


With One Piece Missing

by daggerpen, saphire_dance



Series: Honeyverse [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU - Comicverse, Green Arrow
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 09:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 45,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daggerpen/pseuds/daggerpen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/saphire_dance/pseuds/saphire_dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When, several months after the events of Cry for Justice, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon each receive strange files from an unknown source, the various members of the Batfamily launch investigations that raise more questions than answers. Who is their mystery informant? Why is someone kidnapping specific people from around the world? What is the mystery gene that unites them? What does this all have to do with Black Canary's and Huntress's investigation into an Intergang human trafficking ring? And, most important of all- is Lian Harper still alive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Authors’ Notes and Acknowledgements:** While this story technically takes place after [Like Red Wine and Honey](http://daggerpen.livejournal.com/64221.html), it’s completely comprehensible as a standalone fic so long as the reader goes in with the understanding that Jason Todd and Connor Hawke have been a couple for a little while at the start of the story, and most of Jason’s post-Countdown canon has been generally ignored.
> 
> We’d like to offer our thanks first to Schizoauthoress and our friend Alex for their beta work. We would additionally like to thank Alex for his help with plot and characterization research for this story. Finally, we’d like to thank [anaer](http://archiveofourown.org/users/anaer/pseuds/anaer) for her [wonderful art!](http://de-chibi.deviantart.com/art/With-One-Piece-Missing-335216322)
> 
> A lot of work and time has gone into this fic, and we are really just thrilled with how it’s turned out. We hope that all of you will enjoy!

_~I can't say for sure, because I have no experience, but – well, is this what family is like? The feeling that everyone's connected, that with one piece missing the whole thing's broken?~_

  
  


― Trenton Lee Stewart, _The Mysterious Benedict Society_

  
  


*******

  
Stretching lightly, Dick Grayson yawned widely as he padded around the kitchen of Wayne Manor. The night before had been an eventful patrol, and none of them had gotten back before sunrise. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was the first one up, it being the early hour of 3:30 in the afternoon. Blearily, Dick fumbled around with the coffee machine, not entirely sure where Alfred was but not particularly wanting to bother the old butler just yet. He could make his own coffee. As for breakfast, or whatever passed for it... well, there was always cereal. He wasn’t picky.   
  
And besides, whatever Alfred said about the nutritional content, Rainbow Crunch was still pretty tasty. The brightly colored box always brought a smile to Dick’s face when he found it tucked among the blander cereals Bruce and Alfred preferred.  
  
And they were almost out of it, too. Well, he had been eating a lot of it that week, hadn’t he? What could he say – he got hungry after patrol, and he wasn’t going to wake up Al just to fix him something else. There was still enough left for a bowl, and so Dick found himself seated at the table killing off a heaping serving of multi-colored puffs, the coffee maker chugging slowly in the background, when he heard Alfred’s soft footsteps behind him.  
  
“Master Richard,” came the voice. “I have spoken to you about bringing work to the breakfast table?”  
  
“Huh?” Dick glanced around in confusion until he spotted the folder on the table, the few visible files not immediately recognizable. “Oh, that’s not mine. Bruce must’ve left it here.”  
  
“I see.” Alfred continued to move, tottering around the kitchen. After a few moments, he spoke, “I am surprised the young Master Damian is still asleep. He’s usually up even before you are.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess that’s what happens when I turn his alarm off,” Dick said. Alfred cocked an eyebrow at him, and he grinned sheepishly. “It was a long night.”  
  
“I don’t imagine he’ll be very happy about that.”  
  
“He’ll mope the whole day, probably,” Dick said with a shrug. “He’ll get over it. Little ninjas still need their sleep.” Alfred nodded briefly, and Dick could swear he saw his lips twitch upwards slightly. “Oh, and we’re out of Rainbow Crunch, by the way,” he added, shaking the box.  
  
“I’ll be sure to pick some up today. If you require a substitute in the meantime, I believe I have some sugar you could pour into a bowl.”  
  
Dick just grinned and took another bite of his breakfast.  
  
The sound of coffee being poured alerted them to another presence in the kitchen, and Dick turned to look at the newcomer. All these years of training, and even Dick could never hear Bruce coming.  
  
“Well good morning there,” he said with a grin. Bruce just grunted, setting the pot back in its place and coming to sit at the table. Taking that as his cue, Dick stood to fetch his own mug, dumping in sugar and sprinkling it with cinnamon while Bruce settled quietly at the table.  
  
“What’s this?” he heard, and turned to see Bruce picking up the folder.   
  
Dick walked back to the table, setting his coffee by his food. “It isn’t yours?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Tim’s?”  
  
“I doubt it. He doesn’t typically work in here.” Frowning, Bruce began to leaf through the folder, laying its contents out on the table. Dick leaned over curiously, and even Alfred paused in his routine to glance over.  
  
“What are those, blueprints?” Dick asked. “Are any of us working with something like that?”  
  
“No,” Bruce said, standing suddenly and turning on his heel.  
  
“Bruce? Where are you going?”  
  
“To review the security footage,” Bruce said. “This isn’t any of ours. Someone else has been in here.”  
  
Breakfast forgotten, Dick was on his feet, running after him.

*******

  
Connor barely held back a yawn as he pushed himself out of bed, sunlight streaming in through the open window, leaving little patterns of light against his dark skin. Rubbing at an eye, he glanced to his side to see...no one. Again. The blonde couldn’t quite suppress a sigh as he slid out of bed, walking into the living room, where he knew his insomniac boyfriend would likely be.  
  
“Did you sleep at all?” Connor asked, standing in the doorway. Jason didn’t look up, sprawled out on the couch and flipping through his files.  
  
“Little bit,” the brunette responded. “Couple hours. Didn’t want to wake you. Have you been working on any missing persons cases?”  
  
Connor blinked at the non sequitur. “What? No, why do you ask?”  
  
“Because I’ve got a file of names here that isn’t in any of my records.”  
  
“What?” He strode over to look at them himself, placing an arm on the back of the couch.  
  
“This file.” Jason shook the folder slightly for good measure. “It just showed up on the coffee table today, on top of everything. It’s just a list of names, good chunk of ‘em reported missing, and a couple of genetic profiles. I’ve never seen it before.”  
  
“Are you sure you didn’t just lose it in something? We’ve got a lot of papers.” And not particularly well organized ones, at that, at least that he could tell. Connor was never sure how Jason could keep track of all of them – and wasn’t entirely sure he _could_ , sometimes, though he supposed the various notes all but plastering their apartment had to help.  
  
“It’s not typed up like I would, and there’s no source written down,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the papers. “There’s nothing here t’show I’ve ever touched it.”  
  
“Well where else could it have come from? Do you think someone just – broke into our apartment and left it for us?”  
  
“That’s the theory I’m leaning towards.” Finally, Jason set the papers down, standing and glancing back at the other man. Connor couldn’t help but notice that the perpetual dark circles under his eyes were even deeper than usual. “I’m going to go start running this. You mind checking the door for me, see if there’s any sign of the break-in?”  
  
“As long as it doesn’t electrocute me again.”  
  
“I told you not to touch the blue wire.”  
  
“There are five blue wires.”  
  
“Well, don’t touch any of them,” Jason replied, and ducked into the other room.

*******

  
Tim stared at the file folder on his counter, internally listing off anyone who could get into his apartment without setting off the alarm. The candidates ranged anywhere from minor annoyances to major threats. When he checked the security feeds and found the tampered footage, the list got even shorter: there were only so many people who could manage something like that.   
  
Returning to the kitchen, Tim pulled on a pair of gloves before picking up the folder, ensuring that his own fingerprints would not contaminate it. He didn’t think he would find anything – the precautions taken so far pointed to someone both thorough and cautious –  but he would be still sure to dust it for prints later. In the meantime, Tim carefully pulled out the documents inside, scanning them over quickly. It looked to be nothing but a collection of finance reports for a variety of small companies. One of the names was familiar – Biotech. Hadn’t Bruce been keeping an eye on them? He took a closer look.  
  
The reports themselves seemed incomplete, and had obviously been hastily photocopied. Apparently, whoever had left this hadn’t had long with the files. Tim had a feeling that there’d be a variety of irregularities once he ran the numbers over, but the real question was –  what was the point of the documents? What could be important enough that someone would take the risk of infiltrating his security system, instead of approaching him directly?   
  
Tim shook his head, letting the papers fall to the table and turning to retrieve his cellphone. He’d go over the contents later, but right now, he just wanted to find out what was even going on. Hopefully Oracle had something to tell him.

*******

  
“Oracle,” a brusque voice came over the communicator, startling the red-haired woman out of her reverie. “This is Canary, reporting in.”  
  
“Dinah,” Babs replied, leaning into the microphone. “What have you got for me?”  
  
“Well, I’ve asked around at the cafe, but no one saw anything. I’m sending you the security feeds now.”  
  
Two hours ago, a file from a disposable email address had turned up in her inbox – her _private_ inbox – devoid of any explanation and containing nothing but a series of characters, presumably some type of code. Two similarly unexplained files had apparently been delivered to the Manor and Tim Drake’s apartment earlier this morning, the former appearing in the middle of the kitchen table and the latter waiting on top of his counter.  Reviewing the Manor’s security footage had turned up a 10-minute interruption in the tapes, and the accompanying alarms that would usually have gone with the loss of the feed disabled. Tim’s security, meanwhile, seemed almost untouched, aside from a similar gap in his footage. There wasn’t yet any indication as to who had sent either of the files, but Babs would bet anything that those two events had something to do with her own mystery email.  
  
So far, none of the mysterious sources had left any trace of their identity, but Babs had managed to trace the email back to a small computer cafe in downtown Metropolis. Black Canary had gone to investigate, stopping by on her way south to meet up with Huntress. Helena was investigating a kidnapping ring in the area.  
  
But Babs found her thoughts focusing back on Dinah as she waited for the files to finish downloading. For several months now the blonde had been working with her, showing up on her doorstep after a long flight from the remains of Star City. After everything that had happened in the aftermath of Prometheus’s attacks – the damage to her city, the death of Lian Harper, Roy Harper’s relapse into drug abuse and subsequent disappearance, and her pending divorce with Oliver Queen, initiated after the man had tracked down and murdered the man responsible for Star City’s destruction – Dinah had done her best to lose herself in her work, throwing herself into case after case with single-minded focus. Eventually, Babs knew, she would burn out, but for now the redhead had been content to oblige her old friend. Everyone coped in their own way, and Dinah... Dinah needed the distraction right now.  
  
“You got them?” Dinah’s voice came over the comm once again.  
  
“Yes,” Babs replied, pulling up the security feed. She was unsurprised to see the footage cut out nine minutes before the email’s estimated sending time, and resume a full twenty minutes later. “That’s a no-go,” she said. “Whoever’s behind this has really covered their tracks. Go ahead and meet up with Huntress. I’ll figure things out from here.”  
  
“Got it. Canary out.”  
  
Conversation over, she returned to her screen, frowning slightly.  
  
She didn’t know who was behind this, but she _would_ find out.  
  
  


 


	2. Chapter 2

The guards had been posted at various points about the room, leaning against doors and mostly blacked out – but not boarded – windows with rifles over their shoulders and bored expressions on their faces. In the center of the abandoned store, a few more men sat around, one curled up on dingy mattresses while the others were playing a card game of some sort. No one, clearly, was expecting trouble. _  
  
_They had been stationed there for at least the past few weeks, according to Oracle’s information. Apparently, their “cargo” passed through here at times, and several men had been posted to ensure that no investigators interfered in the intervening time periods. _  
  
_Kidnappers. A fairly sizeable ring, from the looks of it. The kidnappers had clearly been operating for some time, but had only come to their attention a few days ago, when one of Helena’s students had gone missing. They’d hoped to be able to track her here, but so far, there was no sign that any children were being held in the building. _  
  
“_ I’m not seeing any of the kids,” said the voice in her earpiece, confirming Dinah’s fears. The Huntress threw a leg over the roof beside her, pulling herself up to regroup with Dinah. “I can’t see anything here in the back too well, they have the windows better secured, but there’s no sign of any of them. I guess they must have taken them somewhere else.” There was a faint clicking sound over the connection. “I’m ready when you are.” _  
  
_Dinah nodded in confirmation. “Let’s take them.” _  
  
_There were in all maybe a dozen men in the empty shop; it took the two heroes less than ten minutes before every one was bound or unconscious. Black Canary went in through the windows, landing amidst shattered glass and surprised guards. They’d already taken down three before the gunfire began, the men too taken aback to react in time. Huntress was on them by the time the bullets began to fly, firing bolt after bolt into the fray. Canary took out her own share, barely needing to waste a blow on each of them. The men would wake up soon with splitting headaches. _  
  
_They were the lucky ones. Helena was out for blood – unsurprisingly, considering her connection to the case – and they’d regain consciousness too late to be interrogated. _  
  
_The man in the corner was not so lucky. He’d been pinned to the wall by several bolts, one further embedded into his leg. Dinah grabbed him by the collar, shoving him harder against the wall. “Where are the kids?” _  
  
“_ I – I don’t know.” _  
  
“_ You don’t know?” Helena took a menacing step towards them, brandishing her crossbow. “I bet I can jog your memory.” _  
  
“_ No, please! I don’t know! They just – gave us a list and told us where to drop them off!” _  
  
“_ What list?” __  


*******

  
“So what do we know?” The younger Batman was the first to speak, staring out at the others around him. The elder Batman, Red Robin, Batgirl, Black Bat, and a very sullen Robin stared back at him, arranged around one of the Cave’s monitors, currently displaying the blank mask of Oracle.  
  
“Not a lot,” said Tim, “So far we’ve just got three mystery files turning up out of nowhere. Both my security and the Manor’s were breached, but there’s no trace of who broke in to either of our places. Oracle got an email out of nowhere from some random computer cafe in Metropolis, but their security cameras are missing time, too.”  
  
“Do we have any suspects?”  
  
“A few,” Tim said with a slight shrug. “It’s a surprisingly long list.”  
  
“But not that long,” Dick replied. “There can’t be more than, what, ten people who could have pulled this off?”  
  
“People who can pull it off, and know who we are. If anything, this list is too long.” Bruce set down the sheet of paper. “We should investigate, but focusing on the case they’ve left us will provide more of a lead than anything else.”  
  
“Not to mention, I want to know what this is about,” Dick added. “So far, we’ve got a lot of data and not much of a clue, except that something funny’s happening with some local labs.”  
  
“Then we’ll start with them. See who owns them, and what they’ve been working on.” Bruce stood at the head of the table like a general. He gave orders like one, too. “Dick, you take Damian and go to the Biotech Lab on 24th. Tim and I will go to the Lexcorp Lab on 17th. Barbara, your operatives?”  
  
“Have their own work. The files were delivered to us personally, let’s keep this close for now,” Barbara replied. “But I can start analyzing Red Robin’s files. That money’s got to lead somewhere.”  
  
“All right. Then I think Batgirl and Black Bat can take the lab on 42nd?”  
  
“We can do that,” Steph said, with Cass nodding her assent.  
  
Bruce stood. “You all have your assignments. We’ll meet back here tomorrow night.”  
  
“Let’s hope we find something,” Dick said as he rose as well. “Something big is happening here. I want to know what’s going on here.”

*******

  
“What is going on here?” Dinah whispered as she flipped through page after page of names. Some had photos or descriptions attached. All had prices beside them, bounties. A few adults, but mostly, children, from all over the place. Kids who were Sin’s age – Lian’s.   
  
(She would have been 9 years old soon... )   
  
So young, and now they were targets of... what?  
  
“You mentioned a drop-off point,” she heard Helena say behind her. “Where?”  
  
“It’s – it’s this warehouse over by 97th.”  
  
“97th?” Dinah asked, turning around to look at Helena. “That’s by the airport, isn’t it?”   
  
Huntress nodded, turning back to the thug. “Where is it?”  
  
“I can look it up, we have the address. There’s a drop-off twice a week, we can’t contact them outside of it. Look, no one’s going to know I told you this, right? They’ll kill me!”   
  
“No one has to know,” Dinah said.   
  
“As long as you keep cooperating,” Helena added. The thug gulped. “When’s the next drop-off?”  
  
“Tomorrow, midnight.”  
  
“When was the last one?”  
  
“Monday.”  
  
“Monday?” Helena turned to her. “She’s gone already, then.”  
  
“We’ll visit the warehouse tomorrow,” Dinah said. “And find whoever has them there.” She let her eyes drift back to the list, flipping through, until one profile in particular jumped out at her.  
  
“... oh,” she said quietly.  
  
“What?” Helena asked, too low for their reluctant informant to hear.  
  
“It’s just that... Lian’s name is on here.”  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Jason scrubbed a hand over his face, staring at the screen of his laptop. __  
  
“What doesn’t?” Connor asked from beside him, looking up from his own work. __  
  
“This mystery file over here. List of about 700 names from all over the world, apparently with some gene in common. That’s it. I thought maybe someone was targeting them for some reason, since a bunch of them have been reported missing, but most of them, doesn’t look like anything’s up with them.” __  
  
“Could they be targets? Some type of hit list?” __  
  
“Maybe, but there are still a hell of a lot of them, and I’m not even sure this file is complete. It’d take doing to get them all. I guess we could be talking a list of potentials they’re picking from, but without anything t’tell us the likelies, the list doesn’t do much good. So what, someone broke into our place in the hour or two we were both asleep –” __  
  
“Hour?” Connor interrupted. __  
  
“ – Managed to avoid waking us,” Jason continued, ignoring him, “Disabled the security system, and cut the surveillance feeds, all to leave us a vague hint?” _  
  
_Connor sighed slightly, choosing to table the matter of Jason’s sleeping habits in favor of the more pressing topic. “A vague hint someone thinks we can figure out. Whoever did this, they obviously wanted to catch our attention.” __  
  
“Well, they’ve got it.” Jason sighed, setting the file down and drumming his fingers against the table. “Let’s hope we’re as smart as they think we are. I’m going to start going over the missing ones, see if they’ve got anything in common besides whatever this gene is.”

*******

  
It didn’t make any sense. What did Intergang want with a bunch of kids?  
  
So Dinah had been asking herself for the past twenty-five hours, tracking down dead end after dead end after dead end while she and Helena waited for the time of the scheduled drop –off to arrive.  
  
It would be one thing if they were from rich families or similarly worth ransoming, but while there were a decent amount of targeted children from reasonably well-off families on the list, a lot of them were anything but – and yet some of the poorer ones had far higher bounties listed. Could there be something special about them? The vast majority of them had never exhibited anything close to metahuman abilities that Oracle’d been able to find. What else could make them valuable?  
  
“Yeah, well, you can be sure to ask once we nail these guys,” Helena said when Dinah asked. She was getting increasingly restless as the hour of the meeting drew nearer, for understandable reasons – one of her students had been caught up in this mess, after all. Now, Theresa Lowell had been taken somewhere else, and the men they were waiting for, whoever they were, were their best bet for finding her.  
  
It was still nearly a full hour before midnight. She and Huntress had agreed to meet at the site early, just in case their mystery kidnappers showed up in advance. Not to mention, it gave them plenty of time to scope out the location.  
  
A buzzing in her ear interrupted her thoughts. She tapped a button on her wrist. “Oracle,” Dinah spoke into her communicator. “What have you got for us?”  
  
“Well, I’ve been working on the patterns in the list you sent me,” came the computerized voice. “I think I’ve got something you two should see.”  
  
Dinah nodded absently, retrieving a touchscreen from her side and pulling up the received file as Huntress did the same. “Genetic profiles?” she asked as she scrolled down the page.  
  
“On some of them,” Oracle responded. “It looks like most of them have some medical records somewhere, but it’s taking time to compile. I figured it was worth checking, and something else turned up, too. Take a look.”  
  
“What?” Dinah glanced back down at the screen. “Oh my God,” she breathed in realization.  
  
“What?” Helena asked.  
  
“Vandal Savage. Everyone Oracle checked has been descended from Vandal Savage.”  
  
“What?” Helena repeated, surprised. “How do you know?”  
  
“There’s a – specific gene sequence he looks for. It needs to be there for him to harvest his descendants’ organs. I know it because – because Roy and Lian were descendants. Savage went after them a while ago. I was with them. Intergang must have – gotten hold of a list of them or something. That’s why the victims have been targeted.”  
  
“But why so many kids? Why would some of them be worth so much to them? Could it be some type of – organ farm or something?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Dinah admitted. “But it’s something to do with Vandal Savage, I’m sure of it.”  
  
“That was my thought,” Oracle said. “I’ll keep looking into it and tell you what turns up. In the meantime, see what the guys here have to say about it. Oracle out.”  
  
Dinah checked the time – 11: 17 PM. Still almost 45 minutes before their targets were scheduled to arrive. She continued to look over the file Oracle had sent. Some of the names had more details than others, other things that would have come up in Oracle’s tracked data – recent deaths, missing person reports, criminal activity by known relatives, medical records, and so on. None of it proved any more promising than the genetic connection; hell, the list didn’t even look like it’d been filtered down to candidates who’d been taken. Some didn’t seem to have been reported missing, this one had been killed in a car crash only two days ago, and this one was 40 years old – so it wasn’t just kids on the list. But why were so many of them children? Dinah shook her head, glancing up from the file. She didn’t understand any of this.  
  
And for the moment, she didn’t have to.  
  
“I’m seeing some cars coming in,” Helena informed her. “It looks like they’re here. Go on your signal.”  
  
It was several more minutes before the cars stopped arriving. Dinah gave it a few more to be sure, watching the two groups as they met up, the leaders talking in hushed voices she couldn’t make out from her vantage point.  
  
Until the truck arrived. One of the arrivals, a tall man in his forties, jerked a thumb at the large vehicle parked beside the open warehouse doors. “Good selection this time,” she managed to understand.  
  
“Now,” she whispered to Helena. Huntress was on the move before she could even finish the word.  
  
Unbidden, Helena made a beeline for the truck, putting a few bolts into the tires on her way to take out the driver before he could escape the scene. Dinah focused on the mass of men in the warehouse itself, making sure that none of them fled or interfered with Helena’s activities.  
  
There were more of them than there had been at the store, and they were better equipped, too. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be much of a problem for Dinah, but as she had to both prevent their escape and make sure that none of the men – or their bullets – got near the kids, things were more complicated than usual. Fortunately for her, the thugs seemed entirely too willing to keep their attention on her; rather than running, they mobbed her, getting in each other’s way while sending bullets flying erratically. It was pretty clear none of them had any idea how to fight in a group, much less with this group specifically.  
  
Dinah used that to her full advantage.  
  
They didn’t come in waves, exactly, but basic geometry prevented her from facing more than a few at a time. Dinah took them down as swiftly as she could, striking out gracefully with nerve strikes and debilitating blows, moving to immobilize with the least damage possible. She had never really relished fighting like this, not even for kidnapping scum – the feeling of bones breaking and joints popping under her hands made her feel sick. Uninjured as she was when the crowd began to thin, Dinah felt relieved; when Huntress joined in, the children safe and the driver presumably incapacitated, it was an even greater relief, and they made short work of the rest. Dinah began to bind the unconscious or otherwise potentially mobile men while Helena moved back to the truck, opening it and ushering the children out gently.  
  
Their “good selection” consisted of some fourteen children, ranging in age from older teenagers to the very young, including, chillingly, a young girl who couldn’t be older than four, who curled up in the corner crying. The majority of the children were moving slowly, sluggishly, and Dinah could tell they’d been drugged. Nonetheless, some of the older children nonetheless seemed to have managed to take some level of responsibility, attempting to comfort their younger counterparts.  
  
"We should start getting the kids together,”  Helena suggested.  
  
“Yeah.” Dinah moved over to the youngest in the group, unable to resist the urge to comfort her. She knelt down and nodded to the teen sitting next to the child, who blinked sluggishly in response a few times before understanding dawned and he moved away to join the others.  
  
“Hey there,” Dinah said, attempting a comforting smile. The girl continued to cry. “Hey, shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now, all right?” Dinah placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. “Shh, shh. We’re going to get you back to your parents, okay?” The girl managed to look at her, eyes still filled with tears, and Dinah gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “What’s your name, honey?”  
  
“J –Jazzy Simons.” She wiped at an eye, sniffling and hiccuping slightly. Dinah’s eyes widened. She knew that name from the files Oracle had sent her; it was one of the first people she’d run. Jasmine Simons was daughter of Brandon Simons, a man with suspected ties to a money laundering ring down in the East End. That was, until two days, when he and his young daughter had been run off the road by a runaway tractor trailer. Dinah had seen the report.  
  
There had been no survivors.


	4. Chapter 4

Damian was sulking. Even after Dick had let him disable the security system and pick the lock, he was refusing to talk to the younger Batman, face fixed into a scowl by his side. The little ninja was convinced he would have caught their mystery intruder if Dick hadn’t sabotaged his alarm clock. Still, he at least behaved as they made their way cautiously down the hallway.  
  
Biotech. The company had been on their watch list for a while now, but not as a particularly high priority until recently. No one knew much about them, only that they were a new, small company that had suddenly been building a great deal of labs, yet putting out very little in the way of research or products. That, combined with the fact that their funding seemed to come entirely from a few anonymous donors, raised a lot of red flags. There was nothing suspicious enough about the company to alert the police, but there was enough to make Bruce want a closer look.  
  
And it looked like they were going to get just that. Dick signaled to Damian, and the two of them moved in to the first room, Damian brooding the whole way.  
  
They uploaded Oracle’s little virus program into the main computer bank, then continued on to the file room. There was no alarm, and security seemed unaware of their intrusion into the building. Dick relaxed a little as he began looking through the files.  
  
“I’m not seeing anything we were looking for.” Dick commented as he pulled another folder out of the drawer he was looking through. If he was reading these files correctly, they were looking at a major supplier of some of the more dangerous substances that Gotham’s criminals were known to use.  
  
“I don’t believe this,” Damian complained, his first words this mission. “There’s no one here. This is a complete waste of our time.”  
  
“Only you could be disappointed by _not_ getting attacked,” Dick said. “There’s still plenty here to investigate. Come on, help me with these files.”

*******

  
Tim watched the Lexcorp building through his binoculars, waiting for Oracle’s all clear on the security. “I have to ask why you didn’t call Superman on this one? He keeps pretty good track of what Luthor is up to.”  
  
“He does, but he’s also as subtle as his uniform. Whatever’s going on is still considered secret. We don’t want to tip our hand just yet.” Bruce nodded to Tim as they got the signal to move in. “I’ll call him tomorrow if this doesn’t pan out.”  
  
They dropped into the hallway, and almost into a patrol of guards. Only their quick reaction times – and long history working together – got them safely into an office just in time to go unnoticed. Lex Luthor was far too cautious to rely on electronics alone.  
  
Bruce signaled the all clear when the guards had passed, prompting Tim to sneak back into the hall and down to the lab while Bruce stayed in the office to get into the computer system. Tim took a few samples, ducking under a table as the guards passed through again. He gathered as much intel as he could, dodging the guards one last time before leaving to meet Batman on the roof where they started.  
  
  


*******

  
“This is really great, you know. I missed you a lot. You left some big shoes to fill.” Steph couldn’t help but laugh as Cass looked pointedly at Steph’s feet and then her own much smaller pair. “Sorry, idioms. Not literal shoes. I mean that Batgirl is a big thing to live up to.” Something she was still working hard to do. “And look at you! Black Bat, huh? Red Robin said you were working over in Hong Kong, but it’s really great to have you back here. We haven’t really gotten to hang out enough, we should –”  
  
“Steph,” Cass interrupted.  
  
“Huh?” She turned to her partner.  
  
Cass touched a finger to her own lips. “Shh.”  
  
“Oops.” She clapped a hand over her mouth, blushing a little, and giggling. Cass gave her a small smile, and then the two of them were moving, slinking quietly in towards the nearby skylight.  
  
They dropped into the lab silently. Cass went to look through the lab equipment and take samples, while Steph headed to the file cabinets. She began to rifle through the files, pulling out any that looked relevant.  
  
“Batgirl?” she heard Cass ask behind her.  
  
“Yeah, B – Black Bat?” Steph turned to look, and saw her friend holding up a small, flat box, looking at it curiously.  
  
“Look at this.” She turned the box in her hands, revealing a codepad on the front of it, but nothing else.  
  
“Can I take a look at that?” She walked over to Cass, who nodded and handed her the box. “Where’d you find it?” Cass indicated the desk she’d grabbed it from, and Steph walked over to see, looking through the drawers for some indication of a code. “I’m not finding anything that’ll tell us how to open it. Maybe O can –”  
  
There was a thump behind her and she turned just in time to see Cass drop her attacker. Steph had to roll to one side quickly as she dodged another.  
  
"Ninjas, really?" Steph asked out loud, dodging under a kick, holding the box tightly in a hand. "We're in a lab, shouldn't there be mad scientists? Or at least mad scientist ninjas?"  
  
Cass just shrugged in response, ducking low under a punch as she did so, several more masked foes circling around her warily. Slipping the box into her belt, Steph moved in to help her fray with a batarang aimed at the back of one of their heads. It missed, the opponent already moving to the side in response to a sweeping kick from Cass, but at least it seemed to catch some of their attention, as several broke off to attack her.  
  
Steph... did better than she’d expected to, actually. She took a few hits, sure, but she’d managed to take down two of the attackers within several minutes. (Cass got five, but, well, Cass was Cass.) The two of them were doing pretty well, she thought – some of them were looking like they were getting ready to pull runners, sure, but that still left plenty for interrogation.  
  
And then the smoke started filling the room. Startled, Steph broke off her pursuit of one of the flightier men, glancing around to find the source – there, in the corner. It looked like someone had planted some kind of incendiary device – flames were quickly starting to climb up the wall, with thick, dark smoke rolling off in waves.  
  
“Fire!” Cass called in alarm.  
  
“I’ve got it!” Steph called back. She rifled through her belt as she ran towards the fire, unleashing a few capsules of flame-retardant foam, which exploded with quiet hissing noises, expanding to cover and smother the flames. Steph breathed a sigh of relief, glancing back at Cass – and saw the additional points of flame on the other walls, several more appearing in the brief moment it took her to comprehend what she was seeing. Cass was already attempting to smother a few, but it was clear she didn’t have nearly enough foam.  
  
Too much. There was too much to put out. Assailants forgotten, Steph ran over to Cass. “Black Bat! We need to run!” Cass looked back at her, seeming to think it over for a moment, then nodded, jogging back over to her.  
  
“Wait! The ninjas –” Cass cried out suddenly. The two girls glanced around automatically, squinting to see through the clouding smoke.  
  
“They’re gone! Damn it!”  
  
“The box –” Cass asked.  
  
“I’ve got it,” Steph responded. The smoke was growing thicker and thicker now, beginning to burn her lungs, and she dug for the rebreather at her belt. “We need to go!”  
  
They ran for the windows. Cass kicked through the glass and fired her grapple gun in one smooth motion. Steph joined her only seconds behind, and then they were gone, the heat of the flames at their back.  
  
They came to a rest on the fire escape of the building across the way, turning back to watch the fire spreading across the outside of the building. She could already hear sirens in the background.  
  
“Not good,” Cass said.  
  
“Not really.” Steph coughed a little bit, flopping down on the metal framework. “Man, and we got the middle of nowhere lab, too. Can you imagine what the others had to deal with?”


	5. Chapter 5

It was stupid. Lian was dead. Dinah had even... seen the body. It had to be a coincidence. A coincidence that Lian had been on the list – after all, of course she would make it onto a list of Vandal Savage’s descendants. (A coincidence that her bounty had been so high, too...) It had to be a coincidence that Jazzy Simmons’ death had been faked. Her father was a powerful businessman, after all, with all sorts of questionable connections. Faking her death would be much safer than just kidnapping her. (Of course, kidnapping the daughter of Red Arrow would have been risky, too...)  
  
Her head was swimming. A coincidence. It had to just be a coincidence.  
  
Or maybe something more. Lian _couldn’t_ be alive, but something just... something wasn’t right.  
  
There had to be more to this.  
  
She had to see Mia. She had to find out what she knew.  
  
The former second Speedy had been difficult to track, having all but disappeared for a time after Lian’s funeral, but had resurfaced recently with the Titans, working with them on several missions. And so Dinah had left Helena to her investigation and taken the League Transporter Express to San Francisco. She was intent on both finding the second Speedy and continuing her investigation in the area, using her old contacts as a jumping-off point.  
  
And now she was standing in front of Mia’s room at the Tower, fist poised to knock, hesitating and feeling incredibly cowardly for it. What was she even so scared of? Seeing the woman she loved like a daughter? Bringing up bad memories? Raising hope, no matter how slim?  
  
Dinah shook herself, and knocked.  
  
“Be right there!” called out a familiar voice from within. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a familiar face. Mia’s eyes widened. “... Dinah?”  
  
“Mia. Can we talk?”  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” She opened the door wider, holding it for Dinah, who walked inside and settled on one of the chairs by the small table.  
  
“How have you been?” Dinah asked, fully aware of how awkward the conversation was.   
  
Mia shrugged. “Okay, I guess. We’ve had a lot of missions lately. It’s been busy. What about you?”   
  
“I’ve been doing a lot of work with the Birds. Just – investigations for Oracle, mostly.”   
  
“Right, right.” She took the seat across from Dinah, fiddling with a strand of hair. “Dinah... why are you here?”  
  
Dinah sighed. “I wanted to talk about Lian.”  
  
Mia’s hands tightened into fists. “What’s there to talk about? I fucked up, and now she’s gone.”  
  
“There’s this kidnapping ring, some big Intergang operation,” Dinah replied quickly, not wanting to get into the issue of blame. “They’ve been targeting descendants of Vandal Savage. Lian was on their list of targets.”  
  
“Does that mean anything? Doesn’t he have, like, thousands of great-something grandkids now?”  
  
“Yes, but... we’ve found some children they’ve kidnapped who were reported dead. They’ve been faking deaths for high –profile kids. And Lian... they really wanted Lian.”  
  
Mia’s eyes widened. “You can’t think she’s alive? She didn’t just disappear in the rubble, we saw the body. And Prometheus wasn’t working with Intergang, was he? Why is Savage, even?”  
  
“Intergang subscribes to the Religion of Crime,” Dinah explained. “Cain is a central figure. Savage claims to be him – someone, probably him, is exploiting that connection.”  
  
Mia shook her head. “Okay, but... she... she can’t still be alive.” She looked away from Dinah. “No matter how much we want her to be.”  
  
“I know.” Dinah sighed. “But there’s something about her death that doesn’t add up. Call it instinct, but I know there’s got to be something more going on here, and I think it’s connected to us somehow. I thought you deserved to know.”  
  
“Then I’ll go with you.” Mia wasn’t quite looking at her. “If this is related to Lian’s death, I want to help as much as I can.”  


 


	6. Chapter 6

This investigation was just getting stranger and stranger.  
  
Jason scrolled down the page, taking an absent sip of his tea as he read. So far, his inquiries were finding almost nothing, and the few clues he’d uncovered somehow only deepened the mystery. Sources from all across the globe had turned up hits, but no one had anything more than a handful of rumors and maybe a blurry security camera clip here and there for him to go on. It was maddening.  
  
He shifted his position slightly, arm brushing against Connor’s. The blonde was sitting by him on the couch, fletching arrows or something – Jason wasn’t paying too much attention, being mostly focused on his files at the moment.  
  
He became slightly less focused when the sound of a phone became audible. Jason sat back from the screen, rustling in his jacket for his various disposable phones, trying to figure out which one was ringing.  
  
“Oh, I think that’s mine,” Connor said, hand fumbling in his pocket. He glanced at the phone. “It’s – my mother? Hang on.” He held the phone to his ear. Jason returned to his laptop, noting with interest the new email on one of his accounts. “Mom? Yeah, it’s Connor. Well, I’m actually in Gotham right now. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, a lot better. You are? When? Um – I think I can probably do that. Well, I don’t know, I do have the whole Green A –”  
  
“Not over the phone,” Jason said absently, still reading the report. Hell, he was going to have to check this out himself. He hated planes, too.  
  
“Er, well, I have other things going on. Oh, that was Jason. Um. Well, he’s my boyfriend. Yes, _boy_ friend. I – well, I guess I like – what do you mean, you already knew?” Okay, that one Jason couldn’t ignore. He stifled his laughter with a hand. “Thanks, I guess. I’ll ask him. I really can’t say now, I – look, I’ll call you back, all right? All right. Okay. All right, love you too. Bye.”  
  
“What was that about?” Jason asked.  
  
“She’s back in New York for the week, apparently. She wants to see me.”  
  
“Have fun.”  
  
“Did you want to come with me?”  
  
“That’ll be a bit difficult, since I’m apparently going to Singapore.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Just got emailed back while you were on the phone. One of my contacts in the area says that there are some matches between the profiles I’ve got and a couple prints found in a lab that got busted. Figured I should check it out myself.”  
  
“I guess we’re splitting up for the week, then?” Connor paused. “Or, um – you know what I mean.”  
  
“I do,” he said. “And we are.” Jason glanced over at him quickly. Connor didn’t look or act disappointed, but Jason felt like he’d let him down. Meeting Connor’s mother was a big thing, and now he’d messed that up.  
  
On the other hand, considering how his last meeting with the rest of Connor’s family had gone, it was probably for the best.


	7. Chapter 7

Mia drummed her fingers against the car window somewhat nervously, watching the flat desert landscape outside her window. Rural Texas. Mia felt thirsty just looking at it, or maybe that was the xerostomia. Their destination was a good day’s worth of driving off, but it was close enough to California that they’d decided they’d be better off for it. Apparently, it helped the cover story that had apparently been concocted for them, too. Mia was just glad that they were driving and not taking the vomit express, also known as the League teleporter. She fucking hated teleporting.   
  
But that did, of course, leave the long, awkward silences to deal with. “So what is this place we’re going to, anyway?” she asked out of equal parts curiosity and verbal fidgeting.  
  
“We’re not exactly sure,” Dinah replied. “The guys we busted didn’t really know a lot about it. As far as we can tell, there are a few central places where they’re being sent. They take the kids from the kidnapper gangs and hold them there until they can send them somewhere. They don’t know where the kids are going, but it’s not all to the same place.”  
  
“Is it some type of organ-harvesting thing? I mean, if Vandal Savage needs to eat them or whatever –”  
  
“It could be, but that wouldn’t really make a lot of sense. A big operation would only attract suspicion, and he doesn’t need to harvest from his descendants often enough that it’d make sense to take so many together like this.”  
  
“Are we even sure all this is Savage’s deal?” Mia pointed out. “They’ve all got the genes of an immortal, maybe someone else wants to try to crack that.”  
  
“We’re not sure of anything right now.”  
  
“Well, what do we have some really good feelings about?”  
  
“We’re going to some compound where they’ve been keeping kidnapped descendants of Vandal Savage. We’re going to free the kids and interrogate anyone there,” Dinah explained. “But first, we’re going to do some recon. I have a hotel booked – it’s about half an hour’s drive out. That should be far enough that we won’t attract any suspicion.”  
  
“And what about Oracle? Does she know anything?”  
  
Dinah smiled a little. “She’s been looking into it for us. Apparently, she has her own investigation to deal with right now, but she’s been running some leads. She should be hooked into the communicator I gave you if she needs to contact us.”  
  
“Good, good. Sounds good.”  
  
They were silent for a few moments, the radio playing in the background. She drummed her fingers more against the glass, watching the dry landscape outside. Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
“Dinah,” she said suddenly, unable to stop herself. “Do you think that maybe she could be... I mean.”  
  
“No,” Dinah said suddenly, maybe too firmly. She bit her lip, then after a moment continued, “I mean – I don’t know.” She did not look at Mia, watching the road in front of her unblinkingly. After a long silence, she quietly said, “I don’t know what to think anymore.”  
  
“I guess... we’ll add that to the list of things we’re not sure of,” Mia managed awkwardly. Dinah didn’t respond.  
  
The drive took four more hours. Mia wished they had just teleported – not like her stomach wasn’t churning already.  
  
She fucking hated driving.


	8. Chapter 8

Jason fucking hated flying.  
  
Jason especially fucking hated flying overseas. When it was all on one continent, he could schedule layovers, leave himself time to get out of the cramped plane and get some actual air. With overseas flights... not so much. A lot of times, he’d just do things the easy way, flying first class so he didn’t have to bother with all the smuggler plane bullshit and just restocking from local suppliers and his nearest safehouse. This time, though, Jason figured a more discreet route would be for the best. Call it a hunch, but this one didn’t feel like one to leave even that much of a trail. Not to mention, some of his gear would be a pain in the ass to acquire on-location. And so Jason had found himself aboard a far too small, questionably air –worthy plane, debating exactly how much alcohol constituted a “stupid amount” considering the company.  
  
Far too many hours, and several drinks, later, Jason found himself in Singapore, touching down on a hidden airstrip about an hour’s drive from the capital itself. The general hustle and bustle of the city was a good cover for most things, but a damn poor place to land a plane without attracting attention.   
  
Fortunately for him, his ride was waiting.  
  
“Jalak,” he said said simply.  
  
“Jason.”  
  
“<<We ready to go?>>”  
  
“It’s been a long time,”  the other man said, turning his head to look at him. “Your Malay hasn’t improved.”  
  
“Your English has, though,” Jason replied, sliding into the jeep and shutting the door behind him. “What have you got for me?”  
  
“You want to speak here?” Jalak asked, surprised.  
  
“What, you think this might be bugged or something?”  
  
“I would think you’d want to get farther away from the smuggler hideout.”  
  
“I just spent eighteen hours in a plane with these guys. They have the tech to listen in from this distance, I’ll eat my jacket.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s the phrase.”  
  
“Well, I don’t have a hat. Seriously, what have you got for me?”  
  
“Not much more than I already emailed. We busted a lab a few weeks back. Someone tipped them off and we couldn’t get there in time, but they couldn’t finish cleaning up first either. We thought they were just making drugs at first, until we got there.”  
  
Jason smirked a little. “Big scary monster didn’t pop out of a crate again, did it?”  
  
“Funny.” Jalak shot him a scowl. “No. It looked like something from a hospital. Nothing you would use to make cocaine. I can get you copies of the equipment we catalogued. There were fingerprints, too. We couldn’t match most of them, but a few sets matched the people on the list you had. I don’t have much more.”  
  
“You got copies of the reports here?”  
  
“Everything I couldn’t send you before,” he answered, passing Jason the papers.  
  
Jason began to page through the documents. “Says here you have a witness?”  
  
“Had. Keep reading. She was killed in a car crash a few days after we talked to her.”  
  
“Well gee, that isn’t at all suspicious or anything.”  
  
“We have no proof of anything yet.”  
  
Jason sighed, closing the folder. “Your department really has jack shit here, doesn’t it?”  
  
“Like I said – we don’t have much. I volunteered for a shift watching it, so you should be able to look around the lab without a problem. Hopefully you can find something.”  
  
“You guys’ve got it under guard?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Jalak shot him a skeptical look. “The lead witness for our case turned up dead under mysterious circumstances, and you are surprised we are guarding it?”  
  
Jason considered that. “Fair enough. Anything else I should watch out for?”  
  
“Whoever had this lab last.”  
  
He rolled his eyes. “Helpful, thanks.” Jason reopened the file, paging through the reports and photographs as they drove. “You couldn’t match any of the other prints?”  
  
“No. The men behind this must have clean records.”  
  
“Or a good clean-up crew. You notice anything going odd with your database recently?”  
  
“That’s not really my department,” Jalak pointed out.  
  
“Right, right.” Jason’d heard that before. “Guess I’ll check it out myself.”  
  
Jalak looked at him in bemusement. “You will hack into our database to make sure it has not been hacked into?”  
  
“More or less.” He continued to flip through the files. “I’m not seeing a lot here about that witness’s crash. You think you could get me access to look over the wreck myself?”  
  
“After what you did for me and my friends?” Jalak said seriously. “I will get you the moon if you need it.”  
  
“Think I’ll pass on that one for now,” Jason replied. “I have no idea where I’d put it.”  


 


	9. Chapter 9

Bruce flipped through the file in front of him, waiting for the others to settle around the table. Oracle’s monitor was on and the green light on the camera showed she was watching as well. He set the file down as Damian snagged the last cookie off the tray Alfred had left. The others filtered in more slowly, Dick first – lamenting the lack of cookies, of course – followed shortly by Tim, then finally Cassandra and Stephanie. The blonde woman chattering at her silent companion about something Bruce couldn’t quite make out.  
  
“Reports?” Batman asked when the other five had finally taken their seats.  
  
“Well, we’ve got some good dirt on Biotech,” Dick said, “But nothing that looks even a bit like our case.” Damian grumbled quietly in the background, and Dick glanced at him. “We’ll look into it, after we figure out what’s happening with all this.”  
  
Bruce nodded, turning to Tim to have him report on their foray into Lexcorp’s lab.  
  
“Either Luthor has gotten much better at covering his trail, or he’s not involved in this.” Tim twirled a pen between his fingers as he recounted  “We didn’t find anything illegal, but there’s a lot of questionable projects going on. Nothing we can work with, though.” Addressing Bruce specifically, he continued, “Did you get in touch with Superman?”  
  
“I did. He hasn’t noticed anything like what we’re looking at, and I passed on our findings. He said it looked more like a job for Lois Lane than Superman.” Tim nodded, and Bruce was sure he was planning to keep an eye on Lois’s investigation. He turned to the final pair. “What about you two?”  
  
“Well, we got attacked by ninjas.” Steph said brightly.  
  
“What?”  
  
“They were guarding. We fought them,” Cass explained.  
  
“This is ridiculous!” Damian complained before Bruce could ask for details. “I should have been the one assigned to work with Cain. Fatgirl can barely lace her boots, let alone take on trained –”  
  
“Don’t say that,” Cass interrupted sharply. “Steph is my friend, and a good fighter.” She paused. “And not fat. But okay if she was.”  
  
Damian looked like he’d been slapped, and before he could recover himself enough to reply Bruce took the chance to speak. “I take it you weren’t able to subdue any for interrogation, or we would have been called in already.”  
  
“Yeah, they got away,” Steph said, “They torched the lab, too, but we got a little lockbox out. Turned out to have a flash drive inside. Oracle should have it already.”  
  
“I do,” Oracle’s computerized voice responded. “It’s proving very helpful. I’m still in the process of decrypting it, but the codes I’ve been sent are matching up to it. It shouldn’t take me long to –”  
  
She was cut off by a sudden noise, alarms sounding as alerts began to scroll across the Cave’s main screen. Six pairs of eyes leapt to the monitors in unison, and Bruce stood to move over to the keyboard. “Are you getting this too?” he asked aloud.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Arkham,” Dick said.  
  
“Do we know who?” Steph asked.  
  
“From the reports I’m getting...” Oracle said, tone impossible to distinguish through the computerized distortion of her voice, “Everyone.”


	10. Chapter 10

It was nearly midnight by the time the plane arrived, a small smuggler craft touching down on the flat desert sands that served as their landing strip. Mia clenched and unclenched her hands around her binoculars, fidgeting impatiently.  
  
“Do you have visual confirmation on squad two?” came the voice in her ear, slightly distorted.   
  
She nodded absently, even though Dinah couldn’t see her. “Got ‘em. They’re over by the south side right now,” she whispered into her own mic. “Want me to take them out now?”  
  
“Negative. One might get the alarm off in time. Just keep an eye out and tell me if anything changes.”  
  
“The plane’s slowing down. Are you moving in?”  
  
“As soon as the doors open. You remember the plan?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah. You grab the pilot, I stay here and cover you.”  
  
“Good. I’ve knocked out the men who were supposed to meet the plane, but there should be others coming soon,” Dinah reminded her. “When they leave, do not engage. I want you to signal me, then get inside and cut the power.”  
  
“Shouldn’t I go after the kids?”  
  
“I couldn’t get confirmation on their location. They should be somewhere in the back. Find them _after_ you’ve cut the power.”  
  
Yeah, searching in the dark, that’d be easy. “Got it.”  
  
“All right, the plane’s stopped. Radio silence unless there’s an emergency. Canary out.”  
  
Mia didn’t respond to confirm, of course, simply adjusting her binoculars to watch the plane. She could see the faint silhouette of the pilot, as well as Dinah’s own, which was crouched and moving slowly in on the door. She glanced quickly at the patrol group near the back – they seemed to be staying mostly near the south side of the building, probably assuming that the now bound and unconscious guards in the front had everything under control – before turning her gaze back to Dinah and the pilot, who was struggling futilely against a headlock. The fight didn’t last long, of course, and soon Mia had lost visual contact with the two as Dinah dragged the pilot into the back of the plane.  
  
After several seconds of no further contact, Mia turned to scan the rest of the grounds, double-checking the patrol group’s location before turning her attention to the door nearest the runway this time. Mia doubted it would take long for anyone to investigate when both the pilot and the men assigned to meet her didn’t show up to collect the kids after a few minutes.  
  
It was a full six minutes before the door swung open to reveal a group of men bearing flashlights and shotguns exiting warily. “Canary, got three guys coming your way,” she whispered into the intercom, then, without waiting for confirmation, jumped into action.  
  
The men had closed the door behind them, of course, but the cover of darkness was on her side. Using the codes they’d intercepted, she keyed open the door, making certain to shut it behind her, and made her way carefully down the hall. According to the information they’d gotten, she was looking for the fusebox in the basement, where it’d be easy enough to kill the lights; discovering which door led to the basement was, of course, a different matter. It wasn’t like she could just go around opening the doors at random, after all.   
  
Fortunately, Oracle had been able to provide an alternative. It was a small fiber optic cable, reasonably low tech and with a pretty limited field of vision, but it slid under each door and gave her enough of an idea of what was behind it to go on.  
  
She found her target three doors down the hallway on the left. She found the kids two doors down on the right.  
  
There had to be at least a dozen of them, huddled together in the corner of the room. Some had obviously been crying, the younger ones clinging to the older for comfort. She couldn’t quite tell from the small cable, but they looked like they were chained together. Around them stood six guards, all decked out in body armor and bearing guns. It took everything Mia had not to barge in on the spot. She knew that all she’d be doing was raising the alarm, but it was hard to see the captive children and just... leave. Tearing her eyes away, Mia retracted her cable, continuing her search. The sooner she’d killed the power, the sooner she could get to the kids.   
  
Within the minute, she’d found the basement and pushed the door open gently, creeping down the stairs.  
  
She really should have guessed there’d be a guard there. Mia staggered as the pain erupted in the back of her head, gasping in spite of herself at the hand in her hair.   
  
“Whoever you are,” the man growled, “you're dead meat!”  
  
Mia twisted against the grip, clapping a hand to the fist in her hair and kicking her leg back. She was rewarded with a grunt of pain and a slight loosening in the hold, which she took advantage of to escape, throwing herself forward and rolling for cover.  
  
She had to get the radio first. If he sounded the alarm now, everything would be ruined – there was no way Dinah had completed her part yet, it was all too soon.   
  
Mia sprang out of her shelter by the stairs and dove wildly for the device, one hand latching onto his wrist to drop her full weight on his arm while she grabbed at his fingers with the other, doing her best to pry them off the small black box. His other hand connected with the side of her temple, loosening her grip on his arm enough that she fell off entirely, managing to drag the radio down with her. It skittered across the room, out of either of their reaches, and Mia managed to orient herself enough to aim a kick at the man’s legs, sending him stumbling with a cry of pain. He glanced down at her, then turned suddenly towards the stairs, mouth opening with the clear intent to yell out a warning. Damn it! Mia shoved herself up as quickly as she could, aiming a blow at the side of his head.  
  
Her fist connected solidly with his jaw, and he went out like a light. Mia allowed herself a sigh of relief before she moved to restrain the temporarily unconscious man, gagging him for good measure before binding his hand to the railing.  
  
Compared to the fight she’d just had, cutting the power was a walk in the park. All she really had to do was – carefully – remove the fuses, making sure to pocket them so they couldn’t be replaced, then flip on her night vision and make for the stairs.   
  
She didn’t have a lot of margin for error here – the way she figured it, the men guarding the kids would wait for maybe a minute to see if the guard posted down here could rectify the power situation before checking it out themselves. She had to find a way into the room without anyone noticing, but she couldn’t afford to run into the no doubt flashlight-equipped guards either, especially not with night vision goggles on. That meant that she had to slip in as the door opened, without being blinded by any lights or anyone noticing, and then hope like hell that her plan to take out the guards worked, and before the men sent to investigate the basement noticed the guy tied to the railing.  
  
This was going to be close.  
  
She barely made it in through the door. She’d had to duck back into the shadows to avoid a flashlight beam while the door was closing, and then to jump to get in through it before the door clicked closed. Mia held her breath as she landed, glancing around the room at the guards to see if any of them had noticed her. So far, so good. She let out a quiet sigh of relief.  
  
Mia was never going to make fun of trick arrows again. She still doubted that boxing glove arrows were ever good for anything, but glue arrows? Those things could really save the day. Four guards, four shots.   
  
At this point, there wasn’t really any more stopping the alarm being sounded. Between the confused shouts of the thugs she’d just glued to the floor and the growing murmuring of the captive children, trying to keep things quiet would be like trying to herd cats.  
  
But that was where Dinah came in. Assuming all went according to plan. Subdue the pilot, then the men who came out to investigate, then move in behind Mia and clean up the rest of the guards. Mia pulled out a net arrow and turned to face the door, waiting for the sounds of combat to begin.  
  
“It’s okay, kids,” she said. “Just stay where you are. I’m here to get you all home.”  
  
She only had a couple moments before the door opened violently, an armed man advancing ahead of a few others – the two who’d left must have brought back reinforcements. She released the arrow, and the net tangled around him, sending him stumbling back into the man behind him. A plain old arrow pierced his shirt, pinning him to the wall.   
  
The doorway sufficiently jammed, Mia slid back to a better position, drawing back an arrow but not yet releasing them. She only had one glue arrow left; she wanted to make it count.  
  
She hadn’t factored on one of them breaking free before the others, shoving the entangled man in front of him to the ground as he charged her with surprising speed. Shit. With no time to dodge, Mia had to let the arrow fly, contacting the ground below his feet and releasing its contents everywhere. He staggered slightly, but managed to make it a few steps before the glue solidified enough to stop him, wrapping his arms around her and trying to bring her down. Mia thrashed violently against the hold, sending an elbow into his nose and a knee into his crotch. The man howled in pain, loosening his grip enough for her to worm free, just in time for her to catch a kick to her chest. Damn it, the rest of them had made it through the doorway. Mia swept a leg towards the nearest one, tripping him to the floor, before rolling and pushing herself up nearer the wall, only to be met with about five guns in her face.   
  
“On the ground, bitch,” one of them said, “Before we blow you to –”  
  
The noise was sudden and overwhelming, sending the men in front of her flying. Dinah, apparently, had arrived, and the thugs were now on the bad end of her Canary Cry. Not that the spot over here was that great either – Mia wasn’t in the path of the attack, but she could still hear the shrill tones echoing in the small room.  
  
“Are you okay?” Dinah asked once the sound had stopped, stepping over the bodies of the stunned, fallen men.  
  
“Better than if you’d gotten here a second later.” Mia rubbed at her ears reflexively for a moment before moving to bind the thugs. “Did we get all of them?”  
  
“I think so.” Dinah relaxed her stance, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. Mia could hear the kids starting to whisper quietly to each other in the background, and she turned to Dinah.  
  
“You wanna turn the lights back on? I’ve got the fuses, so you can take them while I stay here with the kids.”  
  
Dinah nodded, accepting them. “I’ll give you a heads-up to lose the nightvision.”  
  
“Hey, I didn’t need my eyes.” She turned to the kids. “Hey everyone, I’m Speedy. We’re going to have the lights back on real quick, and I’m going to stay right here with you.”  
  
“Speedy? Like in the Titans?” one of the kids piped up.  
  
“That’s right.”  
  
“I thought Speedy was a boy, you sound like a girl,” another child said snidely. Probably a boy – it was sad how early kids picked these things up.  
  
“Lights,” Dinah called over the com and Mia pulled off her goggles .  
  
“The first Speedy was a boy, but he grew up. I’m Speedy now.” Mia stood tall and proud, smiling at the kids. She’d earned her title.  
  
“Can we go home now?” asked another kid, maybe five years old. “I want to see my mommies.”  
  
“In a little bit. The police have to get here, and then they’ll call up everyone’s families and get you guys back home.” She heard footsteps behind her, and shifted her stance just in case as she turned around to see Dinah. More quietly, she asked, “What are we doing now? I doubt the cops are just going to let us look around once they get here, but we can’t just leave the kids.”  
  
Dinah nodded. “You keep an eye on them, I’ll look around.”  
  
“All right.” She turned back to the kids, who were clearly exhausted. No surprise – it was well past midnight now. Now that there wasn’t anyone to make them stay up, they were practically falling asleep on the floor.  
  
“Change of plans, these kids need sleep,” she told Dinah, who was doing a quick search of the room. “This place is so far from the police station, it’ll probably be like an hour before they get here. You want to help me get them to wherever they’ve been sleeping, and you can start looking around there?”  
  
“We can do that,” Dinah replied. “That’s probably a good place to start, anyway. I doubt they’ve cleaned it up yet, so there should be plenty to investigate.”  
  
“All right, then.” Mia clapped her hands a few times. “Okay, everyone, it is way past your bedtimes. Who wants to show me where the beds are?””  
  
Several children raised their hands and between them Mia and Dinah managed to get the kids lined up and moving to a room packed with cots. The children shuffled to their cots, only a few of them needing help getting tucked in. Once they were settled in, Dinah and Mia began to look around, keeping an eye on the kids as they worked.  
  
“What’s this?” Dinah leaned down to grab a small corner of fabric poking out from under one of the mattresses, and her eyes widened. Mia glanced over... and her jaw dropped.  
  
“That – that can’t be –” she began.  
  
“It – it _is_ ,” Dinah said in shock, eyes not leaving the object in her hand.  
  
“But how could she have –?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Dinah said, staring down at Lian’s old Speedy hat. “I just don’t know.”


	11. Chapter 11

Well, this sure as hell wasn’t a drug lab.  
  
Unfortunately, that was about all Jason was sure of right now. Carefully, he knelt down, picking up a shattered beaker with one gloved hand. Jalak had been right – whoever was running this place, they really hadn’t left a lot behind, and most of what they had left had already been confiscated and moved to the evidence locker.  
  
“How much you going to mind if I lift some evidence here?”  
  
“Lift?” Jalak repeated uncertainly.  
  
“Borrow,” Jason clarified.  
  
“How long will you be keeping it?”   
  
“How long can I keep it?”  
  
“I can probably give you a day.”  
  
“Not a lot of time to run tests,” Jason pointed out, impatience creeping into his tone.  
  
Jalak sounded a bit affronted as he replied, “If you think there’s a test we missed, I can have them run it.”  
  
“With usual police lab turnaround time,” Jason scoffed.  
  
Jalak sighed. “Two days,” he capitulated. “I really can’t cover any longer than that.”  
  
“Then I’ll work with that.” He stood, moving over to a somewhat scuffed-up table. “That only apply to stuff in here, or can I help myself to your evidence lockers?”  
  
“I can’t get you into the lockers.”   
  
“Yeah, but I can get me into them just fine,” Jason pointed out. “Just wondering how long it’ll be before anyone notices it’s missing.”  
  
“Until someone needs to take a look at it.”   
  
He sighed. “Of course. Well, I’ll work with that, then.” Jason glanced around. “Reports said the vials of blood were stored where?”  
  
“Cold storage in the corner.” Jalak pointed. “We took the vials, but the unit is still there.”  
  
Jason walked over, examining it. “Can’t remember, you run anything but genetics on the blood?”  
  
“We did drug tests. They came up clean.”  
  
“Nothing else?”  
  
“No. Do you think we should do something else?”  
  
“Probably. I’ll let you know when I figure out what it is.” He closed the small fridge, moving over to the table. “There’re some odd marks here. Looks like... a microscope base? Bit of a ring by it, too, so either someone had their drink way too close to it or that was a petri dish.”  
  
“You got that from those marks?” Jalak asked. Jason couldn’t tell if he was skeptical or impressed.  
  
“Looks similar to a few other set –ups I’ve run across before,” he explained. “Not really the type of thing you see in drug busts.”  
  
“It would fit with the rest of the equipment, I think.”  
  
“So we’ve got an illegal lab carrying blood samples, microscopes and similar assorted shit,” he glanced back sharply at Jalak. “Am I the only one who’s thinking we’ve got someone trying to develop some biological weaponry here?”  
  
“Not anymore.” Jalak swore loudly, switching briefly back to Malay. “Okay, I have to tell the others about that part. If we have anything that might be contaminated...”  
  
“Not arguing there.” Jason stood up. “Only question is, what the hell are they kidnapping people for if that’s what they’re doing? And why are they taking blood samples?”  
  
“Human testing?” Jalak suggested.  
  
“Using specific people from a list?” He shook his head. “There’d have to be something special about them. I know they’ve got a gene in common, but no idea what’s so special about that.”  
  
“Any ideas?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Jason continued to examine the table. “Carriers? Maybe trying to target a specific group, but why? Damn it, I need to look back at that list. There’s got to be something important about it.” He glanced under the table just in case, rapping on it with his knuckles to test for any secret compartments, then moved to pace around the room, doing the same to the walls. “This would be a hell of a lot easier if I had any idea who sent me this stuff.” He glanced over his shoulder at Jalak. “Hey, when you’re reporting this, see if you can’t get that blood looked at for any pathogens. Might give us an idea what we’re dealing with.”  
  
“I was already planning to. I’ll send you the results.”  
  
“Good.” Jason paused, frowning at a slightly discolored spot and knocking again. “There’s a secret compartment in here.”  
  
“There is? How did we miss that?”  
  
“Because it’s sophisticated as hell.” He knelt down in front of the panel, pulling a few tools out of his jacket. “It’s pretty close to a few set-ups I have, actually. You can’t really see it, and it doesn’t sound like anything special if you knock on it.”  
  
“Then what gave it away?” Jalak asked.  
  
“I’m not going to tell you, it’s too close to a few of my own rigs.”  
  
“You don’t trust me?” The man sounded slightly offended.  
  
Jason just shrugged. “More’n I trust most people, but it’s not something I’d like to be careless about. Besides which, you might never bust into anything of mine, but you’re going to share the trick with your buddies, and I don’t want it getting around.”  
  
“All right.” He sounded less than pleased, but at least he wasn’t pushing Jason about it anymore. “Just go ahead and get it open.”  
  
“Working on it.”   
  
It took him several minutes, and a near-miss with electrocution – whatever was behind this panel, someone did _not_ want it found – but finally, it popped open. Jalak peered over his shoulder curiously. “What’s in it?”  
  
“Apparently... a whole lot of nothing. I guess they managed to take it before they left.” He pulled out a small flashlight, examining the interior of the small space carefully. “Couple scuff marks, residue of something, might want to get it tested.” He squinted slightly, leaning in closer. “Wait, there’s something stuck in here.” He reached in carefully, removing part of a piece of paper.”  
  
“What is that?”  
  
“Part of a note, I think. Must have gotten stuck and ripped off when this was being emptied.” He held it up under the light. “Holy –”  
  
“What?” Jalak looked at it. “What language is that? I can’t read that.”  
  
“Drop this case.”  
  
Jalak gave him a very surprised look. “... what?”  
  
“This case. Drop it. Say it’s a dead –end case or something, whatever you have to say, just drop this case.”  
  
“What is it? What did you find?”  
  
“This isn’t a language, it’s a cipher.” Jason placed the paper carefully in a bag from his jacket, then pocketed it. “And you don’t want to mess with the people who use it.”  
  
“What people? What’s going on?” Jalak demanded.  
  
“I am going to empty your evidence locker of everything related to this case,” Jason continued, ignoring his questions. “I’ll make it look like a common break-in, people behind this took it back. We can say it was just an unusual drug lab, someone was experimenting with designer drugs or something. Unless you can think of something better.”  
  
“Are you crazy? I can’t just let you take the evidence.”  
  
“No, you can and you will, because if you don’t, then they are going to kill you and take it anyways, and there will be nothing I can do to stop them.” He closed the panel. “This is out of your jurisdiction.” Knowing he owed Jalak at least some explanation, he continued, “It’s monsters in boxes again. You don’t want this. You didn’t find this. You don’t know this exists. And if you don’t want to piss off a very, very powerful group of assassins, then just – leave this to me.”

*******

  
Steph landed lightly on the rooftop, crossing silently to the nearest edge and raising her binoculars. Her last tip had lead her here, but so far, Steph was seeing no sign of any arson, nor of her target himself. She raised her grapple gun, preparing to investigate the building itself, when she heard the voice in her ear – “Status reports?”  
  
Steph touched a hand to the communicator, speaking in hushed tones. “Batgirl reporting in. I’m on Firefly’s trail, but haven’t found him yet. The last trace of him I found was a bomb about 15 minutes ago. The bomb squad had it under control when I left.”  
  
“Red Robin. I’m sitting outside Crane’s hideout, but there’s no sign of him.”  
  
“Batman Two and Robin. We’ve found a few of Zsasz’s victims so far, but no sign of Zsasz himself. And we seem to have picked up a straggler...”  
  
“He is not a straggler, he’s an associate,” interrupted Damian. “He was very helpful with Zsasz last time; I elected to bring him in.”   
  
“Who is this?” came the elder Batman’s voice.  
  
“He’s called Abuse. I can vouch for him.”  
  
There was a long moment of silence. “I want a full report later.”  
  
“Got it. Batman Two out.”  
  
“Black Bat?”  
  
There was no response.  
  
“Black Bat, status report?”  
  
“Black Bat.” The intercom crackled slightly, the noise interspersed with a few dull thudding sounds. “Found Killer Croc. Talk later.” The comm went dead.  
  
There was a moment’s pause. “Well, at least one of us is making progress,” Steph said. She wasn’t terribly worried about Cass – if anything, it was Croc she should be feeling sorry for.   
  
“Attention all units,” came a voice over the comms, this time from the police radio channel they had all tuned into. “We have reports of a suspicious device over by 40th between Market and Ash.”  
  
“Batgirl, isn’t that your area?”  
  
“On it!” she said, and moved.

*******

  
Victor Zsasz had never been an easy man to find. Damian close behind him, and the boy’s friend not far behind Damian, Dick leapt to the next rooftop, continuing to scan the area below him. They had been lucky enough to intercept reports of a man with tally mark scars in this area, but upon arriving had found no further trace of their quarry.  
  
“How’s it going, Red Robin?” he asked into the comm as he moved.  
  
“Still no sign of him. I’m starting to think he might have realized this hideout’s been compromised.”   
  
“Has anyone been able to get through to Batwoman?”  
  
“Nothing yet. We think she’s out of town right now.”  
  
“She picked a hell of a time for a vacation,” Dick said, landing lightly on a nearby ledge. “Hopefully she’ll hear the news soon and come back. We sure as hell could use the backup right now.” He ignored Damian’s scoffing in the background.  
  
“Yeah, well, hopefully she’ll be the only one who hears about it,” Tim said darkly.  
  
“Are we talking about the Red Hood here?” Dick asked.  
  
“He’s been pretty off the radar lately, but he’s been seen around Gotham a few times,” Tim answered. “If anything would draw him out of the woodworks, it’d be this... and the last thing we need is to be trying to keep his kill count down, too.”  
  
“Is it going to be that much of a problem?” Steph interjected suddenly. “I’ve never met the guy, but honestly, with a situation like this, I’m having trouble seeing how his backup would hurt.”  
  
“He’s unpredictable,” Bruce spoke before either of them could respond. “It’s hard to say how he’ll behave in this situation. He’d go after the escapees, but if any of us tried to stop him from killing them, he’d be likely to turn on us, as well as to escalate any situation. There’s still a crater left downtown from the last time he tried to kill the Joker.”  
  
“I sure as hell wouldn’t trust him in a fight,”  Tim added.  
  
Dick shifted uncomfortably. “I’m thinking this is all a moot point anyways,” he said. “With something this big, if he hasn’t shown up yet, he can’t be in town.”  
  
“Yeah, well,” Tim said, “Let’s hope he doesn’t hear about it anytime soon. He’d have to be pretty damn far away not to come back for this.”

*******

  
Jason stared at his phone. 5:30 PM here. What time was it in New York, again? He wanted to call Connor; he’d gotten used to using him as a sounding board when he was investigating things. Jason fiddled with the screen, then slipped the phone back into his pocket. Connor was visiting his mother. He... shouldn’t interrupt. Not for this. What could he even say, anyways? This wasn’t a good conversation to have over the phone. This was anything but a good conversation to have anywhere but a nice, private area where no one could possibly hear or record them. The League of Assassins had ears everywhere.  
  
Could he talk to Talia about this? He’d more or less lost contact with her since his generally unpleasant stint travelling the multiverse, hadn’t really picked it back up, but he could find a way to reach her without too much difficulty, he was sure.  
  
A sudden thought occurred to him. Had _Talia_ sent him the file? She easily had the resources to find him and break past his security, as well as to find out whatever it was he was tracking. But if she’d wanted to clue him into anything, why not just tell him instead of all this cryptic bullshit? Could she not just tell him directly? Or had it been someone else, and this something Talia didn’t want him to know about? Would he be working against her? Jason didn’t like the thought. But then again, how much leeway did she have to do anything right now? Maybe she _had_ sent him this, or wanted to, and just couldn’t email him directly.   
  
Either way, it didn’t bode well for his chances of just calling her up and asking what the hell was going on here. No, he would have to go this one alone for now, at least until Connor was done visiting his mother or Jason had any clue what the fuck was going on here. Hell, Jason wasn’t even sure about bringing most of his contacts into this. He didn’t dare go to anyone associated with the League, and most of the other ones would just be sticking their necks out too much, like Jalak would have been. He’d have to stick with non-League contacts he didn’t mind losing, and there was no telling how useful they would even be, since the ones who were most likely to know something were also the least expendable.  
  
The half –sheet of paper he had wasn’t helping much, either. Jason could recognize the basic cipher easily, but the key changed fairly often, and he obviously didn’t have the key to this one. He could probably break it given enough time, but it was slow going, and he didn’t even know how much information the page had.  
  
Jason groaned, rubbing his eyes. He was too goddamn tired for this shit. He was quickly reaching the crashing point of his typical cycle of sleep deprivation, and avoiding nightmares only worked until the point he started hallucinating. There were always the uppers, of course, but did he want to use them now? Might be better to just go with a few drinks to help him sleep and start over when his eyes weren’t trying to close without his permission. (Or were doing so less than usual, at any rate.)  
  
(He could almost hear Connor’s nagging.)  
  
Oh, fuck this. He’d hit a wall anyways. He was probably too tired to even dream much, and there was a bottle of vodka with his name on it. Fuck more cipher bullshit, fuck checking with the contacts he could, fuck checking the news. He’d sleep. It wasn’t like he was going to miss anything urgent.  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Babs dumped the remains of the last pot of coffee down the sink. Her father may have preferred station sludge, but she’d been spoiled on the good stuff long ago. Alfred himself had actually given her this coffeemaker as a housewarming present. Fancy and programmable, it did everything but roast the beans. All she had to do was add water, though Alfred had insisted she was the only person in the world who could actually get the thing to work properly. Once she got the machine going she wheeled back to her desk to fetch her cup: no sense in dirtying another one just yet. She tried to ignore all the blinking alerts on her monitors, but it was difficult.  
  
This was getting to be too much. With Arkham emptied of its inmates, the floodgates were open. Trying to subtly coordinate police and emergency personnel along with the less than official peacekeepers was draining. She’d barely had any time to work on the mystery that had been dropped in their collective laps.  
  
Which, of course, was obviously the point. Unfortunately, simply knowing that it was an obvious distraction did nothing – they could hardly afford to ignore the breakout, nor did knowing that someone with the resources to orchestrate this wanted them not to look into the case.  
  
Helena, fortunately, had recovered her missing student in time to help, and was currently busy checking on her underworld informants. Turf Wars were, unfortunately, inevitable when any of several Arkhamites broke out, let alone... all of them.  
  
Zinda, meanwhile, had finished with her last mission two days before, and was already on her way to Gotham city, set to help with searching for the lower –profile escapees. The police helicopter pilots were particularly fond of her, and it would certainly ease some of her stress on that front.    
  
Hawk and Dove were trying to keep up regular street patrols. Hank had argued, accusing her of not valuing them, but Dawn had understood. Someone needed to keep the peace while the police were busy, or there’d be rioting in the streets.  
  
Misfit she had sent out out to keep watch on half a dozen of the larger clock towers. The Clock King was hardly a threat on par with any of the others, but it kept Charlie busy without completely trashing her ego, which was something Babs was especially concerned with at the moment. She had no doubt that Charlie would strike out alone and get herself hurt if Babs tried to shut her out completely, especially with _him_ still unaccounted for. Her hands balled briefly into fists. He had a _thing_ for killing kid heroes...  
  
Shaking herself, Babs rinsed out her mug and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. Back to work. Back to the chaos. She returned to her desk just in time to catch an incoming call, and grinned, relieved to see it was Dinah, getting back to her.  
  
“Canary, how quickly can you get back to Gotham?”  
  
“I can’t. I need your help,” Dinah said. “It’s important.”  
  
Her expression faded. “What do you need?” she asked. ‘How important is it,’ she was tempted to ask, but restrained – if Dinah couldn’t come, Babs knew it was something big.  
  
“My family. Connor, Roy and... Ollie. I need your help finding them.”  
  
“What’s going on?”  
  
“I think Lian might still be alive.”  
  
Babs nearly dropped her coffee. “What?”  
  
“I know how it sounds, but I have enough evidence... I can’t let this go. It’s already been so long, if I let the trail get any colder... if I leave time for them to find out that we’re looking for them... it might be too late.”  
  
“I believe you. Connor’s in New York; his mother is visiting.” Babs made a point of keeping tabs on Milo Armitage, and by extension, Moonday Hawke. “It will take me some time to track down Roy and Ollie. They’ve both dropped off the grid, and I can’t give this my full attention. With the situation as it is here...” she trailed off.  
  
“I understand,” Dinah said. “Just... do what you can. Please.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”

*******

  
Connor hadn’t really seen his mother much since his coma. He’d made sure to call her after he’d woken up, of course, and had managed to meet with her once before this, but with Connor’s travels across the US and his mother’s travels across the world, scheduling times to meet had been difficult. It had easily been months since they had last seen each other in person.  
  
This was getting awkward quickly.  
  
Conversation had been easy enough for the first few hours. With his mother’s extensive travels, there had been plenty to discuss. Eventually, though, the topic of conversation had shifted from his mother to him, and Connor had had a lot more trouble finding things to say. His memory was doing better. He had kind of been settled in Gotham for a bit. He was pretty sure he would stay there for a while. No, he... really, really didn’t want to talk about Star City or the rest of his family right now. No, he didn’t really have many plans for anything at the moment. And so on.  
  
Not to mention, she kept asking about Jason. And Connor... _really_ didn’t know what to say about him. He figured it would probably be a good idea not to mention the whole Red Hood thing. Or the used-to-be-dead thing. Or the part where Jason may have kidnapped his adoptive sister at one point.  
  
That didn’t really leave a lot to say about him. Yes, he was a Gothamite. Yes, things between them were good. Yes, he treated Connor well. Yes, he was very sorry he couldn’t make it. Yes, Connor was sure he was having a lot of fun in Singapore. What was he doing? Just... business stuff. Yes, he was a horrible liar. Yes, it had to do with _that_ stuff, and no, he really didn’t think this was a good place to discuss this much further. How had they met? Um. More... business... stuff? Mom, wouldn’t it be a better idea to discuss this back at the hotel, instead of in the middle of a crowded restaurant?  
  
(If Jason was here, Connor was sure he’d say something about how he was _finally_ learning.)  
  
So it went. Connor loved seeing his mother, but it was honestly a bit of a relief when they parted ways for the day, returning to their separate hotel rooms. Connor hadn’t brought much with him, just a few changes of clothes – including his Green Arrow costume, just in case, tucked away underneath all his other items – and general toiletry stuff. Oh, and his bow, of course, with a few arrows. He wasn’t entirely sure if he’d have the opportunity to do much with it – he knew there were a few ranges around where he could shoot, but he didn’t know if he’d be able to get to them – but he’d brought it just in case. His aim was still... less than great, but he wanted to practice whenever possible.  
  
Right now, though, Connor just wanted to get settled in for the night. He unpacked his toothbrush and soap, showered, and settled down to meditate. He wasn’t sure if Jason would call at any point – with a 12-hour time zone difference, it was entirely likely that his boyfriend wouldn’t unless something important had come up.  
  
He was startled from his meditations by a loud knocking on the door, and he reluctantly opened an eye.  
  
“No room service right now, thank you!” he called out. Wait, would there even be room service at this time? It was almost 10 at night, and he thought they usually worked during the day.  
  
“Connor?” asked a muffled, very familiar voice from the other side of the door. Quickly, he was on his feet, opening the door.  
  
“Dinah?” he asked in surprise.  
  
The blonde woman was dressed in her usual jacket, resting a hand against the door frame. She looked... tired, and almost nervous. With that look, Connor couldn’t help but wonder what was going on _now_ , and then felt vaguely guilty for it. He wasn’t sure if he’d even _seen_ her since... everything. Did there have to be a crisis for them to just... talk? “Can I come in?” Dinah continued, and Connor blinked a few times.  
  
“Of course,” he replied, holding the door for her. She walked in slowly, taking a seat on one of the chairs the hotel provided. Connor sat across from her, meditation forgotten.  
  
They sat in awkward silence for a few moments. “So, how have you been?” Dinah asked him after a while.  
  
“I’m... all right. My memory is doing a lot better, and my aim is improving. So that’s good.”  
  
“ Have you been up to anything interesting?”  
  
“Um.” Somehow, he didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell Dinah about Jason. “Well. I’ve been visiting my mom. She’s in town for a bit.”  
  
“Oh, how is she?”  
  
“Good. She’s been – well, she’s been traveling, too. I guess there’s a lot of that going around. How about you?”  
  
“Well, that’s... what I wanted to talk to you about.” Connor looked at her with interest. “I’ve been investigating a kidnapping ring with the Birds,” Dinah continued. “And more recently, with Mia.” Connor blinked, then nodded, waiting for her to continue. “We’ve got a few leads right now. It’s looking like it’s something a lot bigger than we ever thought it would be.”  
  
“How big?” He couldn’t help but think of Jason’s own case. He’d said a lot of the people were missing, hadn’t he?  
  
“Worldwide,” Dinah answered. “They have these lists of targets, assigned bounties for some reason.” No, probably not, then. That wasn’t anything like the file they’d gotten. “They all seem to be descendants of Vandal Savage.” She paused briefly. “It’s a pretty long list. And one of the names on there was... Lian’s.” Connor’s eyes widened. “But that’s not everything. When we raided one of their bases in Texas, we found...” Dinah reached into her purse, retrieving a small cloth object and handing it to him. “We found this.”  
  
Connor’s jaw felt like it was about to drop. “But – this means that –”  
  
“That Lian might be alive?” Dinah nodded. “We don’t know a lot, but... it’s starting to look like there’s hope.”  
  
Connor was silent for a few moments, turning the hat over in his hands. “You said Mia was with you. Does... anyone else know?”  
  
“Oracle,” Dinah replied. “She’s been... trying to help me find Roy. He should....” she trailed off.  
  
Connor nodded, silently handing the hat back to the woman across from him. “And Ollie?” Dinah tensed slightly at the mention of him. “He deserves to know,” Connor said quietly.  
  
Stiffly, Dinah nodded. “I tried to get in contact with him. Oracle’s looking for him too.”  
  
“So... what happens now?”  
  
“We have some information from one of their pilots,” Dinah replied. “There’s a base in Kazakhstan, between some small towns called Karakum and Udyuk. Most of the kids who were sent out have been taken there. We’re going to head there to see what we can find.”  
  
Connor nodded. “I’ll break the news to my mother, then.”  
  
“Thank you,” Dinah said. Connor smiled.  
  
“Anything I can do,” he replied. “It’s Lian, after all.”  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Bruce paused at the entrance to the cell where the Joker had been held. The others had been holding up their ends well; many of the escaped inmates had been recaptured, and they were on the tail of many more. However, their forces were stretched thin, and one threat in particular remained at large.  
  
The security for the Joker’s cell had been improved in recent months. Three guards were stationed outside the cell at all times, rotating in staggered 4-hour shifts. It was a good system: no two guards would ever change shifts at the same time, and exposure to the inmate was minimal, the shifts short – not long enough for the guards' attention to wander fatally, not long enough for the Joker to work his insidious manipulation. The guards were well-armed with powerful, hi-tech weaponry, all coded to their specific DNA and fingerprints, all non-lethal – more for their protection than the patient's. There were no less than four successive doors into the cell, three of solid steel, the fourth, innermost one of Plexiglas, and an airlock between each. Both the doors and the spaces between were heavily alarmed, packed with surveillance equipment, sensors specifically keyed to the prisoner, and dozens of minute vents from which potent tranquilizers would erupt at the slightest trigger. The cell itself was much the same, cameras filming every angle, and the same ventilation system ready to sedate the inhabitant at any given moment.  
  
So far, there was no sign that the security systems had been violated – by all appearances, all the security protocols had been followed to the letter. Whoever had orchestrated the breakout had clearly had the codes, both for the guards assigned on duty and the resident psychiatric staff. Inside the cell, the scene seemed by and large undisturbed – for some value thereof. There was no sign of a struggle, as there may have been if Joker was forcibly abducted, eliminating... several individuals as possible culprits. Had this perhaps been orchestrated solely to get to the Joker? It seemed unlikely, considering the sheer number of inmates released, unless perhaps someone had been looking to impress the madman.  
  
Had Joker been the one to orchestrate the breakout? It would certainly fit his taste for chaos. However, Batman doubted that he had anything to do with the unexplained files they had received, and the timing of the breakout was far too convenient to be anything but an intentional distraction.  
  
That likewise ruled Bane out as a candidate – though he had not been much of a suspect in the first place, especially as he had last been spotted with the group of mercenaries known as the Secret Six somewhere in New Zealand a week ago.  
  
Who else, then, had both the means and motive to orchestrate a mass breakout like this? He supposed Luthor was a possibility – one of his labs had been listed in the anonymous tip-off they had received. If it was Luthor behind all this, though, why had the files been delivered to them? Superman had confirmed that he had received no information indicating any related activity by either LexCorp or Lex Luthor himself, which was a strange move from someone interested in taking Luthor down.  
  
Was it perhaps Jeremiah Arkham, the newest Black Mask? Batman had been considering his threat largely nullified for the time being, since the man had been unmasked and taken into custody months ago. As the old head of the Asylum, though, he was better equipped than most to manage something like this. At the same time, though, who would be able to break through their security systems without detection? Who would not be in a position to take Arkham himself down were that the case? It made little sense.  
  
Ra’s al Ghul was another distinct possibility. Certainly, the immortal was more than capable of this, and had done far worse to distract Batman from his machinations. Also, anyone capable of discovering Ra’s’s plans would be in an ideal position to break into the Manor. However, with the significant damage Red Robin had done to his operations, Bruce doubted he would have any projects beyond repairing his ranks.  
  
That left few other candidates, and fewer clues. He had hoped that an investigation of the now nearly –empty asylum would provide clues, but so far he had found little to give him any real lead.  
  
That left one more avenue of investigation. He exited the Joker’s empty cell, making his way down the hall to the east wing. Waylon Jones had finally been released from the medical ward. By this time, he would have recovered from sedation enough to question.  
  
“What do you want?” the reptilian man asked, glaring at Batman through the thick security glass. Bandages covered his thick skin, which was swollen with bruising in several places.  
  
“Who was behind this?” Batman asked curtly.  
  
Croc shrugged in his chains. “Don’t know.”  
  
“I doubt that.”  
  
“What, you think they gave us business cards on the way out? The doors opened and we got out of this hellhole.”  
  
“What did you see?”  
  
He sneered. “Why should I tell you?”  
  
“You just got out of the medical wing. Do you want to go back there?”  
  
He laughed. “I’ve already told you, you don’t scare me.”  
  
“Would you rather I send Black Bat in again? We’re rounding up the other inmates quickly – what do you think they’ll say about that?”  
  
Silence. Croc’s eyes narrowed, mouth twisting into a snarl. “Bastard.”  
  
“You can tell me, or you can tell her. And I warn you – she’s not very talkative.”  
  
“... fine. I didn’t see much. Bunch of guys in masks. Ski mask type things, nothing fancy.” Croc was quiet, thinking it over before he commented, “Moved like the girl.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“They were quick. Like ninjas or something.”  
  
“Anything else?” Batman pressed.  
  
“Yeah, one more thing,” Croc replied. “Someone bellyaching about having to do the same thing again.”  
  
“Again?”  
  
“Yeah. Only at Blackgate this time.”  
  
Bruce’s eyes widened slightly behind his cowl, though his face betrayed no other reaction. He should have expected this. How had he not considered this possibility? “When?”  
  
“I don’t know. Soon.”  
  
“You’re not telling me everything.”  
  
“I didn’t exactly stop to chat. That’s all I know.”  
  
Batman waited for a few more seconds, looking Croc over carefully. The reptilian man glared back.  
  
Convinced that Croc was telling the truth, he hurried out, tapping his intercom into action. “Batman One to all units. We have an emergency situation. Get to Blackgate as soon as you can. I repeat – get to Blackgate now.”  


 


	14. Chapter 14

“That was miserable,” Mia complained as they closed the door of the hotel room behind them, setting a medium –sized backpack down with little ceremony. “You know, the League Teleporter might make me ralph, but I still don’t see why we didn’t take it. We just wasted a day.”  
  
“I told you, Mia, the teleporter isn’t completely untraceable,” Dinah replied. “We don’t have permission to use it in this country, and the last thing we need is to upset the local government. Even if we avoid an international incident, it’ll attract too much attention. These kidnappers went through a lot of trouble to keep us from realizing they took Lian; we can’t risk them realizing we’re in the area.”  
  
“Wait, they can trace the teleporter? Seriously?”  
  
“It takes a lot of energy. I don’t really know the details, just that this whole country is a no-teleport zone.” Dinah opened her suitcase, removing a few items. “Not to mention, this will make for a good cover story if we need one.”  
  
“So what’s our next move?” Connor asked, sitting in one of the nearby chairs and setting his bag on the floor beside him.  
  
“We need to get a few supplies,” Dinah answered. “Surveillance stuff, and transportation. Oracle’s arranged a vehicle for us that’ll have some of the things we need, but it’s going to take about a day to get here. We’ll do recon in the meantime; hopefully, someone here will have heard something.”  
  
“Do any of us actually speak the local language?”  
  
“That’s another reason. We have an interpreter lined up for some stuff, but we’re going to have to work around a lot.”  
  
Connor let his eyes slide closed as the conversation continued, becoming less and less relevant to the task at hand. It had been a long flight, taking place only shortly after they’d disembarked from a somewhat shorter one, and he was tired.  
  
Also, his phone was apparently ringing. Connor’s eyes snapped open, and he fumbled the device out of his pocket, answering it.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Hello, yourself,” came a familiar voice.  
  
“J –” he hesitated, glancing at Mia and Dinah, who were now looking curiously in his direction. “Hi. I was expecting you to call before this. How’s your investigation going?”   
  
“Slowly. Complicatedly. Don’t want to say a lot over a nonsecure channel. Having fun visiting your mother?”  
  
“Actually, I kind of... had to leave.”  
  
“What came up?”  
  
“Dinah. She’s been investigating a kidnapping ring. And she found something that... lead to Lian.” Dinah, who had returned to her unpacking, glanced back at him sharply. Connor turned away slightly.  
  
“Lead to as in –”  
  
“We think her death might have been faked.”  
  
Jason made a surprised noise. “You’re kidding me.”  
  
“It’s not a lot to go on, but there’s evidence.”  
  
“Holy hell.” There was something like a low whistle. “Anyone told your brother?”  
  
“We can’t find him. Ora –”  
  
“Nonprivate conversation, Connor.”  
  
He sighed slightly. “Is it really that easy for people to listen over the phone?”  
  
“Easy enough not to tempt fate.”  
  
“I’ve already talked about our investigations,” Connor reasoned.  
  
“Yeah, but in broad terms. I mean, you've said too much already, but at least no one could fuck with your specific plans more'n they can just knowing where you are. Your guys's identities have been pretty much blown out of the water, but that's just more reason to avoid specifics.”  
  
“Okay then,” Connor began. “We... have... someone trying to contact him now. We’re moving ahead with the investigation, though. We wanted to get out here as soon as we could.”  
  
“Wait. Where are you now?”  
  
“Um. A hotel in – some place in Kazakhstan.”  
  
“Seriously? Don’t give me the specific location, but – why didn’t you call me before you left?”  
  
“I did, but your phone was off. I left a message, didn’t you get it?” Now it was Mia’s turn to scrutinize him, though she has already been watching him. Connor was starting to feel like he should have taken this conversation into the hall, and wondered if it was too late to do just that now.  
  
“No, are you sure you left it properly?” Jason asked.  
  
“I probably didn’t,” Connor admitted. He was never going to figure out how to work his phone.  
  
“When did you get in, then?”  
  
“We’ve only been at the hotel for about 15 minutes.”  
  
“Wait, so what time zone are you in?”  
  
“I... have no idea. It should be pretty close to yours? It’s... 1:40 here. Uh, PM.”  
  
“Three hours behind, got it.” Jason paused, then added, “Well, for as long as I’m here.”  
  
“Yeah. Oh, also, I don’t think I’m going to have cellphone reception once we head out.”  
  
“We’ll work around it. I’ve got a few things I can try. Want me to tell you if they don’t work?”  
  
“If you can’t call me, how could y – funny.”  
  
“I’m hilarious. How long’re you going to be there?”  
  
“At least two days, maybe longer. We need to do a lot of regrouping and packing, then get to the town near the base, then actually get to it.”  
  
“I’ll call you tomorrow, then, and we can figure things out better?”  
  
“Sounds like a plan. Bye.”  
  
“Bye,” Jason said, and hung up. Connor tucked his own phone somewhat awkwardly back into a pocket.  
  
“Who was that?” Mia asked curiously.  
  
“... uh...” was all Connor managed in response.  
  
He was anything but a skilled liar.  
  
Mia raised an eyebrow. “Well?”  
  
“It’s... I don’t think this is really a good time?”  
  
It wasn’t that Connor wouldn’t tell them eventually. He couldn’t hide his relationship with Jason forever, and didn’t really want to. He just needed to think of a way to break the news properly. Without hurting anyone’s feelings.  
  
Or bloodshed.  
  
Especially bloodshed.  
  
Not, of course, that Mia was going to just let this drop. “Oh, come on. This is the same mystery person you were trying to call at the airport, wasn’t it? Who do _you_ need to be so cloak and dagger about?”  
  
“All right, that’s enough,” Dinah said. “Connor, you’re allowed to have your secrets.” He sighed slightly with relief. Before Mia could protest, Dinah continued, “And we need to discuss our plans here. Getting to the base is going to be a long trip, so we need to stock up first.”  
  
“How far away is it?” Mia asked.  
  
“About a five hour drive, I think.”  
  
“That doesn’t sound too long,” Connor said. “What do we need?”  
  
“Well, most of the high tech stuff will be in the ATV, but there are a few things we’ll need here...” Dinah pulled out a sheet of paper and began to list off several things, Mia interjecting here and there. Connor, after trying for a while to follow, gave up and began to unpack his own things, before excusing himself to meditate.  
  
He had a lot to think about.  


 


	15. Chapter 15

The Blackgate breakout, it seemed, had been planned for later than Bruce had initially feared. There had been no sign of infiltrators when they had arrived at the prison, and no indication since. They had time to prepare.  
  
Unfortunately, their forces were still stretched very thin. With the second Batman, Robin, Black Bat and Batgirl all out investigating further on the files, and Batwoman out on an investigation of her own, that left only him and Red Robin still on call, with Huntress joining to lend a hand. Furthermore, they needed to avoid tipping off whoever was behind the breakouts that they had been warned. To that end, Bruce had decided not to alert the staff of the planned attack, instead arranging shifts of covert stakeouts between the few who remained in Gotham, continuing to clean up after the Arkham breakout.  
  
They had been watching for several days now. Though Croc had had no information on their plan of attack, Bruce had a reasonable idea as to how they would be striking. Simply opening the gates could be done rather easily from the central control room, where the cells could also be opened if necessary. One particularly skilled infiltrator could accomplish that, something in keeping with the level of expertise demonstrated by the Arkham breakout, and Bruce doubted that a particularly large team would be positioned there.   
  
That alone would be of little good, though – with the watchtower guards in place, the alarm could be raised quickly by any guard on the premises, triggering any number of security measures from calling in reinforcements to dousing the prison with tear gas and metasuppressants to much more. As each of the towers were equipped with such capabilities, and the systems were redundant, it would then be necessary to disable each of the watchtowers in turn, either by disabling the systems or by disabling the guards, very likely both.   
  
Even those measures combined would have a minimal effect without one crucial final step, though: Blackgate, being situated on an island, could not be easily evacuated by escaping prisoners. While some with suitable metahuman capabilities would be able to provide their own transportation, the majority of the inmates would remain trapped on the island until backup could arrive, giving the breakout little real effect. Even if, as he suspected, the inmates capable of doing the most damage were being specifically targeted for release, transportation would have to be arranged.    
  
It would be possible to bring other boats up to ferry prisoners to the mainland, but that would be easy to detect: the window during which the transports could be brought to the island without detection by the disabled guards and leave with any reasonable number of prisoners would be slim. Bruce had already put in his own measures to notify him if any unauthorized transports were seen. The other option was to commandeer the existing system. Several boats with reasonable capacity were used to transport staff and the occasional prisoner between the island and the mainland, but they had their own set of security measures, which the inmates were unlikely to be able to overrun in a coordinated effort. It was then likely that an additional strike team would be sent to secure the boats. It was also likely that this would be the location of the breakout team’s ultimate leader: close enough to react to any situations that may arise, yet in an ideal position to leave if necessary, ensuring that the one who knew most about the attack was the least likely to be captured.  
  
It was for that reason that Bruce had stationed himself in the shadows of the Blackgate docks, waiting. Red Robin had similarly positioned himself in the control room, while a disguised Helena Bertinelli waited with in one of the watchtowers, costume hidden underneath the uniform of a Blackgate guard.  
  
“It’s starting!”  came the sudden noise over the intercom in his ear, voice identifiable as that of Red Robin. “They’re disguised as guards. Repeat: they’re disguised as guards!”  
  
“We’re still clear where I am,” Huntress responded, voice muffled – she was clearly whispering. “B, what about you?”  
  
“No activity. Red Robin, have you engaged?”  
  
“About to. Making sure our infiltrator can’t alert any of his buddies first. I’m about to set off a localized jammer – radio silence for at least five.”  
  
“Confirmed,” he and Huntress responded in unison, and the line went dead.  
  
After a moment’s silence, Huntress said, "They're moving. Disguised as guards. Keep an eye out. Dropping the jammer.” Her line went dead as well, leaving the three of them cut off from each other. Bruce turned his attention to the boats in front of him, sliding a few batarangs into his hand. He hoped that Huntress would be able to handle herself – she had done well in the past, but she was still far from a fighter on the caliber that he would have preferred, to say nothing of her violent tendencies. But then came the sound of a large explosion, and Bruce had little more time to dwell on it.   
  
The others had been right: many of the men in guard uniforms were turning on the others, joining in with the men rushing in through the destroyed gate. All together, he estimated perhaps 12 men, six of them disguised as guards, as well as four men who seemed to be legitimately guards. Croc, too, had been right: the men moved with some of the same grace as Cass, and in ways that were... extremely familiar.   
  
The League of Assassins. Of course. He’d been foolish to discount Ra’s as a possibility before, clearly: the immortal seemed to have rebuilt his organization more quickly than Bruce had expected, and with his comparatively recent return, it should have been little surprise to see him moving so quickly. It seemed that Ra’s wanted to make sure that he was once more unquestioningly accepted as the Demon’s Head, cementing his position against any potential power plays or insubordination.  
  
The chaos was escalating. Batman surveyed the scene, looking for any clues as to the identity of the band’s leader.  
  
There, in the back. One of the boats hung back slightly from the others, a barely visible figure still inside, presumably giving orders. The infiltrators clearly had no idea that their plan had been leaked, or they would undoubtedly have moved with more care than this; however, it was also clear that they were beginning to suspect that they had been discovered. More than that, the legitimate guards, now easy to identify, were becoming increasingly at risk. He had to move quickly.  
  
Fortunately, Batman had had time enough to plan his own distraction. He detonated the smoke bombs with the push of a button, and thick, dark clouds began to roll out into the battle, obscuring the vision of those below. He leapt down silently, activating his infrared vision. With this many opponents, it would be a better bet to go for the leader at the risk of some escaping than to attempt to take each one down; however, he first had to ensure the safety of the guards.   
  
The four of them, fortunately, had been clustered fairly close together. Batman made his way over, disarming their attackers as quickly as he could. Without the time to ensure that his opponents were truly incapacitated, Bruce instead grabbed the guards, pulling them free of the smoke and into the nearest transport boat. The men blinked, stunned, before one caught on and launched off, speeding away from the combat.   
  
Unfortunately, so did the man he’d identified as the leader. Pulling out his grappler, Batman fired, and the hook lodged firmly into the hull of the other man’s boat. With one smooth movement, Batman anchored it to the dock and set the wire reeling in, then dove in the water in case his target attempted to escape overboard. True to his prediction, the man dove for the edge, but was driven back to his seat by... a bolt to his leg.  
  
“Thought you could use a hand,” came Huntress’s voice in his ear. “You should see the view from here, you know.” Bruce just grunted his assent, intercepting the boat and grabbing his target.   
  
“I have the leader,” he spoke into his headset. “We’re pulling out.”


	16. Chapter 16

It wasn’t that Jason minded going up against the League, exactly. He owed no loyalty to any of Ra’s’s henchmen, both when the man was dead and now that the immortal was back. As for the risk, well, he’d never had much of a talent for self-preservation – obviously –  and he’d done a good job making sure Connor wouldn’t get tangled up in any of this. Talia, however... Talia was quite a  different story from her father.  
  
After some time thinking on it – not to mention a good 15-hour block of sleep, courtesy of about a bottle and a half of vodka and a dangerous level of exhaustion –  Jason was confident that whatever he was on the trail of, it’d be nothing working directly against her. After all, who the hell could manage to find him and leave him cryptic messages about some massive kidnapping and biological warfare scheme to do with the League who wouldn’t know better than to send him against her? No, his worry wasn’t so much that she’d be his opponent as much as that she’d be collateral damage.  
  
Talia’s position in the League had always been complicated. Ra’s was a hell of a controlling bastard – Jason had gotten a pretty good glimpse of that after his dunk in one of his Lazarus Pits – and Talia was on the wrong end of that far, far too often. Now that he was back, Jason would bet good money that Ra’s would be keeping her under even tighter wraps than before, trying to reestablish authority over her. Anything that fucked up Ra’s’s operations stood a good chance of affecting her, too, and if she had no idea of Jason’s current movements, she probably didn’t have much of a chance to prepare for anything. Hell, even if Talia herself had been the one to _send_ him this information, _wanted_ him to take the case, it worried him. If Jason got busted, it’d be pretty easy for Ra’s to realize she was the one who had tipped him off. And Jason didn’t like to think about what the immortal might do then.  
  
At the same time, though, Jason couldn’t let this drop. Kidnapping and biological warfare were both pretty big fucking deals on their own; the idea of combining the two was as worrying as it was mystifying, and stood a good chance to affect more people than just him and Talia. And so Jason had resumed his effort to crack the strange half-letter not long after his phone call with Connor, and had after some hours of struggle figured out enough to get him what he needed.  
  
The missive hadn’t specified much – lab location has been compromised, ship out your items and get out – but in its directions it had mentioned another lab in the Ural Mountains, suitable for – well, that was about where the missing half came in. Some type of special work, apparently. No real details, but Jason had a hunch it’d be a good idea to pack decontamination gear, just as a precaution.  
  
So help him, he wasn’t flying anywhere for a whole goddamn year after this. He was getting so fucking sick of planes, spending hours on end in the most claustrophobic goddamn form of transportation outside of just fucking _mailing_ himself there.  
  
He’d taken a commercial flight this time, which was both better and worse in different ways. Better amenities, less control, more public. For once, taking another smuggler plane would have been too risky – the League had more fingers in that pot than in keeping track of which of his fifty different identities boarded what plane.  
  
(He’d been sure to buy tickets in his other names, of course, all to different locations – a few to actual other locations with possible leads, a few to places obviously unrelated to the case, and even one back home to Gotham, just in case anyone looking might actually think he’d given up. He doubted it’d throw anyone who was looking off the scent for too long, but if worst came to worst, he’d be grateful for every second he’d bought himself.)  
  
From there it had been a rather long train ride to Derask, the town nearest to his rough estimate of the lab’s location. Well, the nearest town large enough that he wouldn’t stand out, and with a good hotel, at any rate. There were several much closer, but he'd have to tread more carefully in visiting those.  
  
He wasn’t going for the lab itself, of course. Not without at least a hell of a lot of recon. That would be stupid. No, he was after the word of mouth around the town, anything they might have heard, and to see how well he could get out to the nearer towns. What got shipped in, what was shipped out, who came down when, and so on.  The lab was pretty self-sufficient, Jason figured, but whoever was there couldn’t avoid the locals entirely. As long as he could get a good cover, Jason was sure he could dig up some good information in time.  
  
He was a freelance photojournalist, he’d decided, doing a photo series of the Ural Mountains area and its inhabitants for a small anthropological magazine in England. No trying to be subtle, just a good disguise and acting the part of the clueless foreigner, and plenty of throwing around money, and he’d pick of plenty of gossip in time without attracting immediate attention. Jason knew it was only so long before whoever was in that lab checked him out too closely, but he didn’t need anything airtight, just a cover that’d last long enough for him to get somewhere, and then some suitable backup explanations. He was thinking British spy, checking out an unrelated lead in the area, nothing to make them look at other possibilities, though he had some groundwork to lay for that yet.  
  
‘Course, meant that Jason was stuck here for an unspecified period of time doing nothing but fucking around doing reconnaissance work in a language he only half –remembered, and trying to keep his cover to boot.  
  
Fun.

*******

  
“Who are you working for?”  
  
The captured man didn't respond, staring blankly at the opposite wall, much as he had been doing for the past several hours.  
  
So far, however, the interrogation had proven fruitless. Their captive henchman hadn’t spoken a single word since being taken to the auxiliary base, refusing to answer any and all questions. They were currently running both fingerprints and DNA, but Bruce doubted that either would turn up any results.   
  
Of course, they had already gotten some rather vital information from their prisoner.  
  
“We know you’re with the League of Assassins,” Tim interjected. “I could tell from the moment you guys started fighting. The real question is, what is Ra’s doing?”  
  
Silence.  
  
“We’ve received information that the League is involved with several labs in the area,” Bruce said, attempting a different tack. “Using a front company called BioTech. What’s so important that Ra’s would feel the need to cause this level of distraction?”  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Is he researching something?" Tim asked. "Something to do with the Pits? Or is this a development project? Weapons? Chemicals?"  
  
Bruce scrutinized the man as Tim spoke, watching for the slightest hint of a reaction to any of Tim's questions, some clue as to Ra's's plans.  
  
The man remained still as a statue, eyes fixed ahead of him.  
  
"Should we get Wonder Woman?" Tim asked Bruce more quietly. "I know she's a big gun, but this is Ra's we're talking about."  
  
"She's unavailable," Bruce responded in an undertone. "We're on our own for the moment." More loudly, he continued, "Ra's orchestrated a mass Arkham escape. You were ordered to break inmates out of Blackgate. What else has been planned? What's the next distraction?"  
  
Silence. Bruce crossed his arms, considering options. He had little expectations that the man would prove talkative; in general, the League’s assassins were generally extraordinarily loyal, and Bruce knew that Ra’s would likely pick someone especially dedicated for an assignment like this. However, the captured man was also at the moment their best way to ensure that they were warned of whatever else Ra’s was planning, and Bruce didn’t necessarily need the man’s cooperation to get something to work with. Perhaps he could exploit Ra’s’s relatively vulnerable position, either make the assassin doubt or anger him enough for him to slip?  
  
“Batman Two is calling,” Tim informed him, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
“I’ll take the call at the main computer. Watch him.” He turned away from the captive man, exiting the interrogation room and sealing the door behind him, then moving to sit in front of the primary monitor.  
  
“Hey there,” Dick greeted him, still wearing his cowl. “Figured it was about time for a status report. You busy?”  
  
“Yes,” Bruce replied curtly. “There was an attempt to stage a mass breakout at Blackgate. We’ve captured the team leader.”  
  
Dick’s eyes were hidden behind his lenses, but Bruce could tell he was blinking regardless. “Oh, wow. So should I call back, or?”  
  
“No. This is related to your case, and he’s been uncooperative thus far. Anything you’ve found might be helpful.”  
  
“Uh, right then. Well, we don’t have a lot just yet, but we’ve got something interesting. O got us a lead on some scientist they’ve been ferrying around. She traced the credit card he’s been using to Luxor Casino over in Vegas. Batgirl and Black Bat are trying to scope him out now. Tell me more about this guy you’ve captured?”  
  
“He was leading the teams attempting to orchestrate a mass breakout at Blackgate, attempting to ensure that the escaping prisoners could access the boats. And he’s with the League of Assassins.”  
  
“What?” came another voice from offscreen, and in less than a second Damian had come into view, shoving Dick out of the way. “League? Who is he? Has he said anything? Who sent him?”  
  
“Calm down, Robin,” Bruce spoke. “We don’t know much right now; he hasn’t been talking. I believe it may be related to your case.”  
  
“Let me see him!” Damian demanded. “I might be able to identify him.”  
  
Bruce sighed inwardly. The boy was too impatient, and Bruce didn’t want him further exposed to anything to do with League politics... all the same, it was too late now, and he was likely to have useful information. “Sending the pictures we have now.”  
  
Damian’s eyes narrowed at the screen as he studied the photos. “Muyassar Maroun.” Damian crossed his arms. “He was one of the men in charge of a base I trained at. They were incompetents.”  
  
“Can you give a location for the base?”  
  
“It was years ago,” Damian said. “Perhaps if I talk to him –”  
  
“Batman!” came Tim’s voice over the intercom suddenly, startling them. “We’ve got a medical emergency in here!”  
  
Abandoning the screen, Bruce grabbed the medkit, running into the interrogation room. Maroun was convulsing in his binds, eyes rolling back and mouth frothing.  
  
“What happened?” Bruce asked as he grabbed the man, checking his eyes as he undid the bonds to determine state of consciousness.  
  
“This just – happened. I don’t get it, we checked him for poison capsules.”  
  
“We must have missed something.” Bruce looked him over, attempting to find the source of the poison. If he could just remove it, perhaps the effects could be slowed long enough to save his life.  
  
“Found it,” Tim said from his back before grabbing one of the scalpels and attempting to cut something free. Hands bloodied, he removed a small capsule, which dripped a thin clear substance. “Subcutaneous. We didn’t even think – damn it.”  
  
“In the bin,” Bruce instructed, grabbing for a suction device. “I’m going to try to get out as much poison as I can.”  
  
“He’s not breathing.”  
  
“Damn it! CPR, now.”  
  
Bruce knew before they began that it was no use; the poison was simply too fast-acting, and there was too much in his system. Even with an antidote on hand, his chances of survival would have been slim; without one, it was hopeless.  
  
He was dead within the minute.

*******

  
Her target was at the table: a doctor, Trinidad Masters. He was working for the League; it had been in the box Steph had found.   
  
Cass walked towards him, watching.  
  
A gambler. She could see in his eyes the excitement as the – dies? – bounced on the table. It was a... thrill. A rush. That was probably why he was working for the League of Assassins: he loved gambling more than money, and he loved money more than people. But Oracle said his work was done, and the League did not like useless people who knew too much. So they had split up to find him.  
  
Cass found him.  
  
There was a woman next to him. She was pretty and wearing nice clothes; the doctor _wanted_ her. That and excitement made him stupid. Cass watched her move; she could see the arm tensing for the killing blow.  
  
Cass _ran_. She shoved at the people in her way with her hands and launched herself at the assassin, grabbing her around the middle. They fell to the ground.  
  
If they did not know she was from the League of Assassins, Cass would have known now. It was in how she moved, like a voice. Or maybe a... dialect? Cass did not really know. But the woman was still not a match. She moved fluidly and struck at killing nerve points, but Cass just dodged and fought back. People around them were screaming and panicking, and the doctor was backing up with wide eyes, so Cass dragged her opponent away from him before she wiggled free. Cass’s hands found pressure points to slow her down until she got a clear strike at the woman’s jaw and knocked her out.  
  
“Who – who are you?” the doctor asked. Cass looked up and saw that he was standing at the table. There was a hand over his chest, and he was breathing heavily: shock and surprise.   
  
Cass smiled at him. “You are safe; don’t worry. I –” Her expression fell as the doctor staggered suddenly. He was choking, with foam coming out of his mouth. “No!” she yelled. _Poison_. Cass slammed her communicator. “Help! I need help!” she cried into her mouthpiece.  
  
Steph was there in five minutes. The doctor was dead in two.  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

Connor’s phone was ringing. He fumbled it out of his pocket, answering it with a touch of his finger and sidestepping Mia’s attempt to peer at the screen.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Hey there to you too. You got your plans figured out?”  
  
“More or less. What took you so long? I was expecting you to call earlier.”  
  
“Had another plane to catch. That seems to be going around, lately.”  
  
“Really?” Connor asked. “Where are you now?”  
  
“Oh, let’s go with an unspecified location,” Jason said casually. “Same time zone as you, I can tell you that. Anyways, can’t talk too much about it here, but I’m... zeroing in on a potential lead.”  
  
"You know, I really doubt anyone is listening in here."  
  
"Yeah, I've got my reasons to be cautious in this case."  
  
"... which are?" Connor asked when Jason failed to elaborate.  
  
"What, I'm going to say that over the phone?"  
  
Connor did not sigh. “All right, how are you, then?”  
  
“Fine.” He could practically hear the shrug over the phone. “Heard some interesting talk around town, nothing leading to too much. It’d help if I spoke more Russian. Haven’t heard anything about anything suspicious being moved through here, no clue if our missing persons might be here or not. Doesn’t look like this place has ties to anyone on the list I’ve got, either.”  
  
“Your... list,” Connor said slowly, a realization striking him.  
  
“We’ve gone over this. List of people, some of them missing, showed up in our apartment out of nowhere.”  
  
“Yeah but, I just realized – the people on the list you have. You said they all had some gene in common or something, didn’t you? Before I even left to see my mom.”  
  
“Yeah, I did. Why?”  
  
“I think that we might be looking at the same kidnapping ring,” Connor said. Dinah, who had been focused on her own preparations, looked up at Connor in surprise, and Mia somehow managed to stare even harder. Connor ignored them for now. He heard Jason inhale sharply. “Could you – cross-reference the genes or something? See if your people have the – Vandal Savage gene thing?”  
  
“...maybe. I’m no genetics expert, not sure if there’s a consistent way to reference it or whatever, pretty sure there isn’t,” Jason admitted. “I can put out a few feelers. If it is the same ring, it’s faster to just cross-reference the lists, should be a lot in common. I sure as hell hope it's not the same case. Any clue who's behind your ring, out of curiosity?"   
  
Connor could tell that Jason was getting at something, but he let it drop. He knew Jason wasn't keeping him out of the loop maliciously or anything; he was just... maybe a bit too cautious, sometimes. If he had to, he could find a channel Jason trusted more to ask over. "I didn't think you wanted to talk about that over the phone."  
  
"Yeah, well, if this is the same case, that's a lost cause. Just say it."  
  
“Intergang," he answered. "We think they may be working for Vandal Savage?"  
  
"Savage?" Jason's tone was surprised.  "Didn't think he – nevermind. Either this is something else entirely, or things just got a lot more interesting. And dangerous. You got a digital version of yours anywhere?”  
  
“No. Can I scan them?”  
  
"You have a scanner?"  
  
"I have the... phone... camera thing."  
  
“As long as it’s typed up, that should work fine. Just make sure the pics are clear – tap the screen, it’ll autofocus. And send it through the dropbox I set up."  
  
“Give me a few minutes, I’ll get them to you.”  
  
“Don’t let me keep you, then. Be... careful. Bye.”  
  
“Bye.”  
  
Connor hung up the phone, then immediately began to scan the room for the bag with the papers, ignoring his traveling companions’ inquisitive gazes.  
  
He couldn’t ignore it when Dinah asked, “Who was that?”  
  
He didn’t quite meet her eyes, walking over to the bag. “I really... can’t say. Not right now.”  
  
“Connor, if this is related to what we’re doing –”  
  
“It doesn’t matter who he is, it’s just a really long story.”  
  
“Of course it matters. Connor, this is relevant to our case. To finding _Lian_.”  
  
That one... hurt. Connor flinched slightly. “Dinah, I’m not – look, if I thought it mattered, I’d tell you, but it really doesn’t.”  
  
“I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about this.”  
  
“I just – it’s complicated. There’s just this person I’ve been working with for a while, and I’m not really sure that... well, that you’d approve of him.” He did not look at Mia.  
  
“What, worse than Eddie Fyers?” Darn, she had a point. “Well, then call him up again, let us ask him.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If there’s anything you want to know, I can ask him.”  
  
“You won’t even let us talk to him?” Dinah’s eyes narrowed. “It’s someone we know, isn’t it? Who don’t you want us identifying?”  
  
“Dinah, _please_ –”  
  
There was a knock at the door, hesitant but loud, cutting off their argument. Connor walked over to pull open the door before either of his travelling partners could get another word in. “Did you ne –” he broke off as he identified the man in front of him, the words catching in his throat. Dinah tensed in the corner of his eye. Mia’s eyes widened.  
  
“ _Ollie_?!”  



	18. Chapter 18

There was a brief silence, with Connor and his travelling partners just staring at the new arrival, and Ollie shifting awkwardly under their scrutiny.  
  
“I got your message,” the bearded man said at last. “Is it – is she really –?”  
  
Dinah reached into her bag and pulled out Lian’s hat. Ollie had given it to Lian at the same time he’d given her her bow: there was no mistaking it.  
  
There was another long silent moment. Then Ollie reached to take the hat from Dinah, turning it over slowly in his hands. “How? I held her in my arms, I carried her out of the rubble. How can she be...” Tears began to stream down Ollie’s cheeks, disappearing into his beard.  
  
“We don’t know,” Mia said. “We’ll ask them after we find Lian.”  
  
Ollie nodded, holding the hat for a few more seconds before handing it back to Dinah wiping at his eyes with the back of a hand. “Where are we heading?” He turned to Dinah, not quite meeting her gaze for a moment. He took a deep breath, and there was an apology in his eyes that they both knew he wasn’t ready to voice yet. Dinah had seen that look so many times, she’d forgiven him so many times before. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength not to forgive him this time. It was hard with the hurt so tempered by hope.   
  
She glanced away. “We’re going to a base a few hours out. We’ll leave tomorrow night.”  
  
“And Roy? Has anyone found him yet?”  
  
“No,” Dinah said. “I haven’t seen him since...” she trailed off. “Since a while ago. Oracle is looking for him now, but she doesn’t have a lot of leads. The last sighting she knows is somewhere in Australia of all places, and that’s not even a given. At this point... we’ll find him after we get Lian.”  
  
Ollie nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. “I guess that’s as good an idea as any. He’s... he’s in bad shape, Dinah.”  
  
“I know.” Dinah swallowed hard. “I know.”  
  
They did not speak for a few moments, Ollie walking in and sitting awkwardly on a nearby chair, glancing at and looking away from each of them in turn. Connor opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it, not knowing what to say. How to express the complex turmoil of emotions he’d been dealing with ever since waking up from his coma, since his memories had begun to return, since the fight where Ollie had been taken over by the Black Lantern ring, since Star City, since Connor had heard about the trial, since... everything.  
  
“Where the hell have you _been_?” Mia asked at last, breaking the silence.  
  
Ollie shifted. “Well. You know Star City forest?”  
  
“No?” Mia said. “Wait, you mean the one where Star City... was?”  
  
“Yeah, that one. From the, uh, White Lantern thing. I was there.”  
  
“You were in a _forest_? _That’s_ why it took us so long to find you?” Mia asked.  
  
“I went there after I was exiled.” Ollie was looking out the window, not meeting any of their eyes. “There was this kind of... it’s complicated.”  
  
“Why did you go?” Mia asked. “Why didn’t you _fight_ it? You weren’t even convicted of anything, the judge had _no_ right –”  
  
“Mia, please.”  
  
“You just left us!” Mia rose slightly in her seat, hands balling into fists. “What, Star City fell apart, and we fell apart, and you just – just –”  
  
“Mia, _please_ ,” Ollie said, his voice breaking slightly. Her eyes widened at that, and she let herself fall back to her seat. Silence fell again, none of them looking at each other, Dinah and Connor pretending they couldn’t see Mia and Ollie wiping their eyes.  
  
“Well, you’re here now,” Connor said, surprising himself. “So let’s get planning.”  
  
“Yeah,” Mia said, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.” She paused. “And you can tell us who you were talking to on the damn phone.”  
  
“Let’s start with the planning,” Connor said.


	19. Chapter 19

Well, that had been a hell of a waste of time. The people in town had had nothing for him – nothing about outgoing shipments, or strange visitors, or anything of the sort, and no one seemed particularly willing to engage in idle gossip. Jason had at least managed to procure transportation, as well as the supplies he’d had shipped (“Photography stuff,” he’d answered the curious innkeeper. Or maybe “Photo taking items” – Jason’s Russian skills hadn’t exactly gotten better since the last time he’d had to use the language.) He’d go investigate the lab tomorrow, he decided; the town itself was a dead end.  
  
And then, of course, there was the question of the mysterious gene. When Connor had told him about the gene associated with Vandal Savage and his organ-harvesting, Jason had been sure that it would be the gene he was looking at, that someone had been targeting Vandal’s descendants with this virus or whatever. When he'd mentioned that Intergang was behind it, Jason was even more confused – were Ra's and Savage working together for some reason? Competing for the same people? And when he’d compared the files, things had gotten even stranger.  
  
The two lists weren’t the same, or even near enough to be different versions of it. But they were obviously related somehow. Almost three-quarters of the names on the list Connor had sent him had turned up on the list of names Jason had received, but his group was apparently a lot bigger than the group Connor was looking at – there were plenty of people he had that weren’t anywhere on Connor’s list, and Jason was sure his own directory of names was incomplete. In addition, the info included with each file was different. Connor’s had bounties, sometimes photos and biographies. Jason had nothing but names, and while most of them had some type of brief genetic profile attached, there was nothing about bounties or any type of information that might be used to grab them.  
  
So what the hell were they looking at, then? Competing parties going for the same group, like he'd first expected? Then why wasn't there more overlap? Different channels? Different sub groups? Even different purposes? And not to mention, if it was the same people behind both lists, what the hell would the League of Assassins be doing working with Intergang, and over descendants of Vandal Savage, to boot?   
  
Intergang was all about the Religion of Crime. Jason didn’t know too much about them, but he knew that they were a lot more likely to be working for Savage than against him, and Jason hadn’t thought that he and Ra’s got along pretty well. If he was even looking at descendants of Savage. Jason was trying to cross-reference the genetics now, see if his mystery gene and the Savage gene were one and the same, but he wasn’t even sure he could do it. The good thing about these people being grouped by common genes was that they all had general medical info floating around, but it wasn’t like they'd had their genomes sequenced or anything. Probably had contacts in various labs testing for specific genes, reporting in.  
  
Of course, Connor and the others had to have found out the kids they were tracking had the gene somehow. The channels were there already – he just had to find them. See if the people on the list of names he had turned up that way, and work from there. He’d started by putting a few feelers out among the Intergang crowd, calling in a few old favors. It wasn’t his usual turf, but he knew people who knew people. He’d considered throwing in a bit of kryptonite, get things moving faster, but had decided against it – it’d be a bitch to steal back, and if he accidentally got Superman killed he was sure Connor would be horribly disappointed.   
  
Trying to go through the League’s side had been a hell of a lot harder. Once again, Jason had been more than lacking in potential sources, not wanting to go for anyone too valuable or too close to the League. Combining that with the fact that they had to have some way to match up the genes? Jason’d had to just give up for now. He’d focus on his underworld contacts, see who knew who in Intergang, and go from there.  
  
Jason sighed, readjusting his duffel bag on his shoulder as he pushed open the door to the hotel. He walked absently by the woman at what passed for the front desk, pondering another date with a bottle of vodka before his trip tomorrow.  
  
“<<Are you sick?>>”  the owner asked him. as he walked by, startling Jason out of his thoughts.  
  
Jason blinked. “<<What? No, why?>>”  
  
“<<You sleep all the time, and look at you. You are a mess.>>”  
  
Jason snorted; he’d barely slept since he’d got here. ‘Course, he’d spent a damn long time in his room, and slipped out the window half the times he hadn’t; he supposed that’d seem a lot like sleeping.  
  
“<<You should go back to Donovsk. They have a new Clinic now. The doctors are very nice. They saved  my cousin Pieter’s life. His wife was... less lucky.>>”  
  
“<<Back to Donovsk?>>” Jason turned to look at her fully. “<<I have not been there. Have many people been getting sick there?>>”  
  
She nodded. “<<A lot of people. No one is going there now because of it. Many have died. It’s a good thing they have the doctor now. He is working on a vaccine to stop it.>>”  
  
“<<For how long has doctor been there?>>”  
  
<<Maybe a month now. He came a bit after the sickness started. My cousin says that he has been treating many villages and the sickness is spreading.>>”  
  
“<<Do you have his phone number?>>” Jason asked.  
  
“<<He has no phone. There are not many phones there. I will give you his address.>>”  
  
“<<That would be well, thank you,>>” he replied. “<<Very helping.>>”  
  
She wrote down the address in sloppy writing, giving him the paper. Jason noted with wry amusement the care she took not to get too close to him, all but chucking the slip of paper at him in spite of his assurances that he was feeling fine, thank you. He had a feeling she’d be burning his sheets when he left.  
  
His amusement faded as he returned to his room and started to make arrangements for a little visit to Donovsk. He would be anything the bastards were experimenting on humans, he would bet anything. Using some little town – multiple little towns, he realized, since the doctor had apparently mentioned others, and Jason knew this was far from their only lab – to get guinea pigs for their goddamn weapon, as well as their defenses against it.  
  
Well then. Jason would just have to pay this doctor’s place a little visit tomorrow and see what he could turn up.   
  
He was brought out of his thoughts by the noise of a phone ringing. It wasn’t the custom ringtone of his main one, meaning it had to be the junk phone he’d set up for one rather specific purpose. He answered without bothering to check the Caller ID – not like it’d give him anything.   
  
“What?” he asked brusquely.  
  
“You the one asking about the kidnappings?” asked a voice – female, he was pretty sure, though it was hard to tell through the distorter. “The big ring with the bounties?”  
  
“Might have been,” he said lightly, adjusting his grip on the phone. “You want to confirm real quick how you got this number?”  
  
“Guy calling himself ‘Big Martin’ put out word that you were offering good money, didn’t say who you were. Just a number.” She paused briefly. “This whole Crime Bible thing, I don’t give a damn about it. Been looking to leave this for a while. Might as well get some pay on the way out. Are you the one who’s been poking around the past week? Black guy with the bleached hair? Your friends busted up one of our bases the other day?”  
  
Ah, hell. _Connor._ “... you know about this how?” Jason asked slowly.  
  
“Word gets around, you know. People’ve been watching, and you haven't been too subtle. You’d better be careful,” she replied. “You know who the Killing Blades are?”  
  
“Refresh my memory,” Jason said dryly.  
  
“They’re hired killers. Group of four. It’s a dumbass name, but they get the job done. I’ve heard they’re all metas – got a guy who can crack the ground with his mind, and someone who does poisons. Can’t say I know the rest too well; I’ve just heard bad things about them. If the deal you’re offering is real, the last thing I want is for you to bite it.”  
  
“When’re they hitting us?”  
  
“They left last night. If I were you, I’d get gone now.”  
  
“Well, guess we should talk quickly, then.” He pulled out his main phone as he spoke, bringing up Connor’s name. “First things first – what the hell does Intergang want with a bunch of kids?”  
  
“Chosen Children of Cain. It’s part of that whole Religion of Crime bullshit, I think. Special people who’ve got two genes they need. Can’t give you more details.”  
  
“Two?”  
  
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. Something from Vandal Savage and something else. Couldn’t tell you the details.”  
  
“I’ve got a list of people here with some special gene in common. Been trying to figure out what it was. You the one I forward this to so as to figure out if it’s either of those?”  
  
“I can do that for you. How soon you need it?”  
  
“If you get it to me by this time tomorrow, I double the pay.”  
  
“Have Martin send me the files. Everything you’ve got. I’ll have him pass it back.” There was a note of menace in the distorted voice as she continued, “But you’d better damn well deliver on your end of the deal.”  
  
“I will, don’t worry,” he replied, unimpressed. “Just get me that info.”  
  
The only response was the click of a phone hanging up, which didn’t surprise him. His main phone was dialing before he even pocketed the other one.  
  
Ring. Ring. Ring ring. Connor’s voice answered – “Wait, was that the right button? It’s beeping now?” There was a faint mumble in the background. “Hi? This is Connor Hawke. I’m not here right now, or maybe my phone is off? But leave a message and I’ll try to call you back. If I can figure out how to check messages. I think it tells me – maybe you should just call me back later. Um, bye.”   
  
Jason rolled his eyes. “Connor?” he said after the obligatory beep. “Call me back the moment you get this. You need to clear out of your place. They’re on to you: you’ve got a group of some very nasty people on your tail trying to make sure you don’t reach their base. Killing Blades, corny but nasty. Find somewhere to lie low, I’ll tell you when I have more information.”  
  
He hung up the phone, slipping it into his pocket and moving to pull up his laptop. Hopefully, Connor would get the message, but he had no intention of leaving any margin for error here. He hated to leave a lead like this, but if the doctor apparently had his success rate, it wasn’t like there’d be any deaths if he waited a few more days to head to Donovsk. Leaving the Arrows to their own devices, though... they were good, but if they got caught off-guard, Jason didn’t like their chances. No, he needed to make sure they were warned. He needed to find the nearest smuggler plane he could commission. Destination: Udyuk, Kazakhstan.  


 


	20. Chapter 20

They had been driving for nearly three hours when their ATV came to a stop, gravel crunching beneath their tires. Mia roused slightly from her light nap, blinking blearily at the sky above them before looking around at the others. “We’re stopping?”  
  
“Just for gas.” Dinah wrinkled her nose as she looked at the rickety station building. “I wouldn’t exactly bet on a clean bathroom.”  
  
This place was ancient; the pumps had no real way for them to pay, and the gas came out in spurts.  
  
“Jesus, are we sure this place is even open?” Mia asked.  
  
“That’s what they said in town,” Dinah replied, and Mia shrugged.   
  
“Guess we go in to pay, then,” she said.  
  
Ollie opted to stay behind to finish filling up the car while the other three went in to search for an employee. Mia found herself wishing they still had their interpreter – the man hadn’t exactly been in the loop, but the game of charades that was about to ensue wasn’t promising.   
  
There was a faint chime on the door as they entered the old station. Looking around, Mia decided that Dinah had been right about the general state of this place – the floor looked like it hadn’t been swept in years, and the food in the aisles like no one had changed it out since the place opened. Hell, it almost looked abandoned.  
  
“Isn’t there supposed to be someone in here?” Connor asked from behind them, and Mia realized that there wasn’t even an attendant. But then...  
  
“Move,” Dinah said suddenly, voice sharp.  
  
“What?” Mia asked.  
  
“Move!” Dinah repeated, grabbing Mia’s arm. The two dove out of the way just in time to avoid the flurry of darts, which embedded themselves in the wall behind her.  
  
“Run!” Connor yelled, and Mia didn’t need to be told twice. They bolted back out through the door, sprinting for the ATV to the reactions of a very confused Ollie.  
  
“Get in the car!” Mia yelled.  
  
“But –”  
  
“Get in!” Dinah shouted. Ollie opened the door just in time to catch himself on it as the ground below them shook, cracks forming in the earth.  
  
“Behind you!” Connor yelled out, and it was Dinah’s turn to duck as something shimmery and insubstantial-looking flashed over her head, slicing through one of the gas pipes. Gasoline trickled out onto the ground.  
  
As one, they took shelter behind the other side of the ATV, looking around for their attackers. Silently, Connor distributed their bows and arrows- except to Dinah, of course – and they readied their weapons.  
  
“There!” Connor cried, shooting off an arrow at a flicker of movement. It went wide by several yards.  
  
“What the hell is going on here?” Ollie asked.  
  
“Guess this is the welcome party,” Mia responded. “They jumped us in the station. Must’ve known we were coming.”  
  
“I’m going out there,” Dinah said. “Someone has to lure them out.”  
  
“I’ll go with you,” Connor said. “I’ll be more good there. Not like I can’t just heal now.”  
  
“You sure?” Ollie asked. Mia could hear the concern in his voice.  
  
“Yeah,” Dinah said, and then they were off.  
  
Ollie and Mia watched over the side of the car with arrows readied as the two carefully walked out into the open. For a moment, they just stood there, looking around. Then the ground shook, and everything happened at once.  
  
A combination of darts and the same shimmery blades that had almost gotten Dinah flashed through the air at the two of them. Dinah grabbed Connor, attempting to pull him to the ground, with mixed results: several blades embedded in Connor’s arm before disappearing, but none of the darts connected. Connor didn’t even seem to notice as the blood dripped down his arm briefly before the wounds knitted themselves over.  
  
Mia didn’t think she was _ever_ going to get used to that.  
  
“I see them!” Ollie yelled, and they shot in unison at the figure on the roof. He – or she – darted back behind cover, but not before the arrow drew a line of blood in their leg, a muffled swear audible. Yeah, she.  
  
“Look out!” Mia heard Dinah cry, and glanced back to the others’ battle. Someone new had jumped into the fray, a Black woman with long braided hair wearing an a-shirt, cut-off jeans, and a facemask. Mia nocked another arrow, but her target was already moving, darting towards Connor with surprising speed. Connor aimed a punch at her stomach, but it only winded his attacker, who recovered enough to grab Connor’s arm with both hands. Connor attempted to wrench his wrist free for a moment, starting to sweep a leg out, before his opponent... rolled up Connor’s sleeve? Then her hand was pressing against Connor’s wrist, and Connor went very, very still.  
  
“Connor!” Ollie yelled. Snarling, Mia aimed an arrow at the woman’s thigh, which connected. She swore as her leg buckled, and Dinah swept in, grabbing the end of her braid and _pulling_.  
  
“Don’t let her touch you!” Mia called out, which was stupid – of course Dinah had figured _that_ out by now.   
  
And she was apparently taking no chances – once they were a few yards from Connor and the woman was starting to fight back, Dinah released her... and then unleashed her Cry, sending the woman toppling backwards. She went out like a light.  
  
Ollie, meanwhile, had abandoned his cover and rushed for Connor before another wave of glimmering blades forced him back. He swore as several sliced his side, but tried to move in again. This time, the earth at his feet shook, and Ollie had to crouch. Connor, still paralyzed, just fell over.  
  
Connor’s hand twitched.  
  
Okay, that earthquake guy had to go. Carefully, Mia crawled out from under her cover, looking around to try to find him.  
  
Several yards away, meanwhile, Connor’s paralysis was clearly wearing off. His hand twitched again, before his arm fell to his chest, Connor trying and failing to sit up.  
  
“It’s wearing off too quickly!” came another woman’s voice.   
  
“Don’t use the blades!” a man responded. “He heals! I’m going to get him!” Out of nowhere, a slender man appeared, making a beeline towards Connor, who was finally managing to sit up. Mia swore, nocking another arrow as he grabbed Connor by the front of his costume, raising a handful of darts.  
  
“Let’s see if _this_ kills you, huh?”  
  
Connor shook his head suddenly, but his eyes were fixed somewhere behind the man, up at the roof of the nearby building. Mia swore in frustration as she realized her shot was blocked, sprinting desperately around to get a better angle while Ollie fumbled with his bow, attempting to get a shot off from his prone position on the ground.  
  
The darts came towards Connor. The recently-paralyzed man grabbed his attackers arms, twisting around out of the way of the weapons, then shoved him to the ground before staggering slightly.  
  
A loud cracking noise sounded, echoing through the air.  
  
Connor went down with a bullet in his chest.  


 


	21. Chapter 21

Shit. Shit shit shit. The fucking idiot. Jason swore from his vantage point, instinctively moving towards Connor before he managed to stop himself. Healing factor. Healing factor. He would be fine. He was just a dumbass.

This wasn't exactly going well.

He'd meant to beat the assassins here, try to get word to Connor without having to navigate a rather awkward reunion with the rest of his family. But of course, they'd been well on their way by the time he'd gotten there, and Connor's phone wasn't even getting reception or something. So he'd commandeered himself a car, figuring on catching up on the road, reveal be damned.

Clearly, he'd been too slow. Jason cocked his rifle again, surveying the scene carefully. As he'd expected, the shot had given pause to the Blades, who were forced to break off their attack and take cover in order to assess this potential new threat, the poison dart guy diving, ironically, for the recently-vacated cover of the Arrows’ jeep. The Arrows' reactions were somewhat more mixed. Their confusion, he’d planned for; their stopping to check on the goddamn moron who’d intentionally stepped into his shot, less so. Jason was going to fucking kill him once he was okay.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Connor said. “It wasn’t that deep; it’s healing already.”

“I don’t get it,” Mia said, looking around. Jason sunk a bit lower in his position. “They took cover. Why did they take cover.”

“Who the hell cares?” Queen asked, dragging Connor to his feet. “We need to get out of here!”

They did, of course, but it wasn’t like Jason could exactly yell out that he would cover their escape.

And Connor, meanwhile, was looking right at him. Jason could see the recognition in his eyes, and a mix of relief and worry. Jason watched him shake his head slightly, mouth moving in silent words. "No... killing... please?"

Oh for fuck's sake. Seriously? Fucking seriously? He’d nearly died, and he wanted Jason to hold back?

Well, he'd just have to be very disappointed in him, because Jason wasn't going to. Not in a fight like this. Not when his boyfriend had just almost gotten himself killed.

And was about to again. Sure, they were finally moving towards the fucking vehicle, but earthquake guy had stepped out again, preparing another attack. Jason drove him back with a shot.

“Get down!” Canary cried, looking around.

“He’s shooting at them,” Mia said, sounding confused.

“He shot at Connor, too!” Queen yelled.

“I, uh. I don’t think he meant to,” Connor said, doing a shitty job of pretending he didn’t know anything here. “Maybe he missed.”

“Let’s just get driving,” Dinah said, moving towards the car with entirely too little care.

“It’s a jeep, there’s no cover,” Queen said. “How are we going to –” He was interrupted by a flurry of darts, driving them back from the jeep. Fucking poison guy, they didn’t know he was behind the car? Jason tried to get a shot at him as he rose up from behind his cover, but he retreated in time. Fucking hell.

Connor, apparently completely recovered by now, was the first to stand back up, diving at his attacker. Keeping a wary eye on the battle in the side of his vision, Jason turned to the other Blades, lining up a shot at earthquake guy. Before he could pull the trigger, though, the one with the energy blades looked up at him sharply, and Jason found himself dodging a wave of the things. Shit, they'd spotted him. He grabbed his rifle, shoved his tripod into his bag, then bolted for the edge of the roof. He'd have to play this carefully if he wanted to avoid being identified without getting anyone killed.

Well, anyone but four people in particular, at any rate. Slinging the gun over his shoulder, Jason slid a pistol out of his jacket, diving for cover behind a nearby building momentarily before the entire structure shook with the force of an earthquake, forcing Jason to dive back out into the open.

At least he was on the other side of the building from the Arrows... or so he thought, anyway, before a certain blonde – well, that didn’t narrow anything down, before Connor came running around the side of the building, launching a kick at the earthquake guy’s head. “I’ve got him!” Connor yelled, sparing a side glance at Jason, and Jason knew it wasn’t just for the other Arrows’ benefit there. 

Time to book it, then. Jason ran for the other side of the building, glancing around cautiously to see the scene. The other Arrows seemed to be following Connor, leaving the bound and presumably unconscious figure of the Blades’ poison expert behind. Jason glanced behind him... and saw the paralysis girl, apparently recovered from her brush with the Canary Cry, making beeline right for him.

Oh, now this was not a fight he wanted up close. Jason circled around the building fully, running of all places for the Arrows’ jeep – he wanted something between him and his pursuer, and at this point, he wasn’t above taking poison guy hostage to do just that. Throwing subtlety to the wind, Jason fired a few shot at her as he moved, all of them missing as she continued the chase. 

Damn, but she was fast. Hadn’t she taken an arrow to the leg earlier? Fucking adrenaline. He considered and discarded the idea of grabbing her teammate as he passed the unconscious form, then just vaulted over the jeep, turning around and firing a spray of fire at his pursuer.

One shot hit her in the leg, embedding somewhere in her shin. She staggered, but kept moving. Another bullet in the other leg, hitting the kneecap full on. Howling in pain, she stumbled, and collapsed to the ground. Jason cocked his gun, intending to finish it...

… except now Queen had spotted him.

Ah, shit.

The other Arrows were following close behind him, and Jason could see the remaining attackers similarly subdued behind him. Glancing at his own, bleeding opponent, Jason considered his options briefly.

He ran.

His bike wasn’t parked too far back; he could probably make it. Jason just hoped like hell he hadn’t been identified. It wasn’t like he was wearing his helmet right now; he’d taken it off to get a better shot. Maybe –

“Hood!” Queen yelled, fury in his voice. Well, so much for that idea.

Not to mention the arrow that just narrowly missed him there. Fuck. Jason staggered slightly, tripping as the next one clipped his knee.

“No, don’t!” he heard Connor yell. Damn, but he’d fucked this up good. Jason pushed himself up, intending to make a last dash... then stopped, raising his hands slowly.

“Well,” Jason said, looking up at the arrow pointed at his face. “It was worth a shot. No pun intended.”

“Drop the gun,” Queen said. “Now, or I’ll –”

“Don’t!” Connor yelled, running over. “Please don’t shoot him,” he said more quietly, coming to a halt. Connor took a hesitant step towards them, looking both concerned and guilty.

“Connor, this isn’t the time! You don’t know this guy, he –”

“I... actually do,” Connor said. “He’s, um. The one I’ve been calling. We’re... working together.” He paused, starting to glance towards Mia before stopping himself. “Please don’t shoot him.”

Silence. Complete silence. All eyes turned in Connor’s direction, even Black Canary, who Jason didn’t remember pissing off personally, boggling.

“WHAT?!” Queen shouted.

“We’ve teamed up before,” Connor said, managing to look Ollie in the eyes. “A few times. He helped me with the San Francisco bombing thing.”

“What, and you just – He blew up Mia’s school!” Technically, just the gym. It wasn’t like she was in it, anyways, he’d made sure she could get out. “How could you trust him? He was probably in on it!”

“He wasn’t in on it; he didn’t even know about it before I asked him to help.”

“You asked him to help? Why would you ask him to help? After what he did to your... to Mia?”

“We’d been kind of... talking for a while. Look, do you remember Bradley Araiza? He started selling drugs in Gotham, and Jason came to me for help. We worked together.”

“What, and you just said okay?” Queen wasn’t even looking at him, head turned completely towards Connor. His face was growing redder and redder as he shouted. Jason wondered if he’d even notice if he stepped out of the arrow’s path.

“Well, yes. Ollie, this isn’t the time to be having this argument.”

“When is? When he kills us all in our sleep?”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Connor said. “Look, he’s been helping me on this case. He just saved us.”

"He shot you!"

"Not intentionally," Jason said.

"He was aiming for the assassin," Connor replied. "I just stepped in the way. On purpose. I didn't want anyone to get killed. And I'm fine now."

“You don’t know how these Bats think. Always two or three reasons for doing anything.”

“I haven’t been a Bat for a long time,” Jason said. “Who doesn’t have multiple reasons for doing something, anyways?”

“Jay, let me do the talking right now, please?”

Queen didn’t exactly look convinced. He turned to Jason, opening his mouth as if to speak.

“Oliver, put your bow down already,” Dinah interrupted. “And everyone just calm down.”

“Are you kidding me?” Queen asked, turning to her. “Don’t you know what –”

“Oliver, I said put the damn bow down. I’m not saying I trust him, but he just helped us, and in case you hadn’t put it together, he has information we need. He’s not going to try anything, and if he does, it’s –” her eyes flickered to Connor – “Four against one. Let him up.”

Queen hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered the bow, shooting Jason a glare. Jason didn’t visibly react, affecting a casual stance and reaching into his jacket.

“Slowly, Hood,” Queen said. “No sudden moves.”

Jason rolled his eyes. With exaggerated slowness, he retrieved a small tablet from his jacket, waving it around. “I have the files you wanted.” He turned to Connor as he spoke, offering the device. The blonde took it, looking over it. “Turns out you’re not just looking at Vandal Savage’s kids here.”

“What?”

“There’s a selection for two genes. One from Vandal Savage, and one other. That’s the one from the files I got sent.”

“Two?” Connor asked. “What’s the other one? Why is it important?”

“Not 100% sure yet,” Jason replied, “But I’ve got a theory. I traced one of the labs back to the League of Assassins. Ra’s al Ghul.” The others’ eyes widened. “Reason I didn't want to do this over the phone. He’s working with some type of biological warfare agent, probably a virus. I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with people who’re immune to it, since from everything I’ve heard they’re working on a vaccine right now to make sure the right people live. But here’s the thing – it’s got all of jack shit to do with Vandal Savage, and I haven’t found anything yet that says Intergang and the League might be working together. So it’s looking like we’re dealing with two different forces here. Might be, Ra’s is planning some type of epidemic and Savage wants to make sure he’s got a good supply if worst comes to the worst. That’s my best guess, anyways. Can’t say I know too much about the guy. Or how the hell he'd even know about this.”

"But why so many kids?" Mia asked, speaking at last. Jason couldn’t help but glance at her, not entirely sure how to feel. "And some adults. Plus, what about the bounties? He wanted some more than others. That's not just stocking up for the apocalypse."

“Besides which, I didn’t think Ra’s and Vandal ever really worked together,” Jason added. “I’d expect them to be fighting more than anything, not for Savage to just quietly start gathering kids.”

“Well, maybe he wants this to happen,” Dinah said. “A chance to... conquer... oh my God.” Her eyes widened with the realization. “An army. He’s building an army.”


	22. Chapter 22

“We need to call Oracle about this.” Dinah turned away from the group as she spoke, pulling out some kind of small communicator.

“We need to go get Lian first,” Ollie replied, folding his arms.

“If she’s even there,” Jason said.

Queen snarled. “You’re not part of this conversation.”

“They know you’re going for the base," Jason continued, undeterred. "If she was there, they’d have moved her and everyone else out, and left some nasty surprises behind.”

“Well what else, exactly, do you think we should do?” Queen snapped.

“Change tactics. They’re expecting a rescue party, but what you need is recon. Figure out where the hell they’d have taken everyone. You’d be better off finding the best bet for interrogation and taking them somewhere they don’t control and going from there.”

“You would suggest that,” the elder Arrow snarled.

“He’s right,” Mia said. “Hate to admit it, but he’s right. They set us up for this, Ollie. They’ve known we were coming for a long time. Do you really expect them to have just left her there?”

“Well, I’m not just leaving –” Queen began.

“No one’s saying that, Oliver,” Canary said gently. “But we’re not prepared for this. We need to stop and do some recon, and I want to talk this over with Oracle.”

“And what if they’re packing up the base while we’re sitting around here considering?!” Queen shouted.

“They might have already,” Jason said.

“I don’t think so,” Connor added, and Jason turned to him, eyebrow raised. “They know we can pick up their trail from even that, right? They want us dead. There’s probably a trap there. That means that they’ll have more people waiting in case these assassins failed.”

“Doesn’t mean the kid’s going to be there,” Jason pointed out.

Connor shook his head. “No, but like you said... it’s someone to interrogate, isn’t it?”

Jason... grinned slightly. Connor was right. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

“Good,” Dinah said, then turned to Jason. “The others can do that while we’re talking to Oracle.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “‘We’?”

“You’re the one with the information, you’re the one who explains it.”

He folded his arms. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me, kid,” Canary said, “You do not want to go with Ollie.”

Jason hesitated, glancing at Connor, who just nodded.

“... fine,” he capitulated. “But Oracle only. I’ve had enough of reunions for the day.”  
*******

Barbara was tempted to ignore the beeping notice of an incoming call and go back to her aborted nap, but ignoring problems didn’t make them go away, and there were only a select few that had this frequency in the first place. “Yes?” she answered, her voice distorter filtering the exhaustion out of her tone and replacing it with an emotionless computerized mask..

“Oracle,” came the response. “Oracle, this is Black Canary. I need to talk to you.” 

“All right, so talk.” Babs fumbled for her glasses, pushing herself up.

“This might be something better shown.”

“Give me a minute, then.” She grabbed the nearby handlebar as she slid out of bed, arranging herself into her chair. Blinking away sleep, Babs rolled into her computer room, settling herself before the main monitor. “On camera,” she directed her computer, and the blank screen resolved into an image.

Barbara’s eyes widened slightly as she saw the familiar figure. Jason Todd. Sans helmet, the other man was standing behind Dinah with arms folded, scowling slightly. He was... a lot older now. She’d known, of course, and seen the occasional surveillance picture, but somehow, even seeing him on the other end of the camera was more jarring.

“All right, kid, tell her.”

“Turned up some type of big kidnapping ring, Canary figured you should hear about it.” He shrugged briefly. “I found a file in our apartment more’n a week ago. Turned up out of nowhere.” Babs just about choked. “Had a bunch of stuff about missing persons, genetic profiles, and stuff like that. I started looking into things, and found some information leading to the League of Assassins. They –”

“Hang on. Batman needs to hear this.” She typed a few keys, pinging the main computer at the Manor.

Jason’s expression darkened. “No.”

Barbara paused, her hands resting on her keyboard. “They need to know.”

“Then you can tell them once we’re done talking.”

“They’re going to have questions only you can answer. I’m calling them.”

“I get a say in this?”

"No," Dinah and Babs replied in unison.

Jason was silent for a moment. "Let's just get this over with."


	23. Chapter 23

It was shaping up to be a long, miserable drive. His father had been ranting almost the whole way so far, punctuated by Connor’s protests and explanations. Ollie had demanded the full story, which Connor had reluctantly given, minus a few... key details.

“And you just let him walk away?!” Ollie spat, glaring alternately at Connor and the road in front of him. “He shot someone in front of you, and you just let him walk out?”

“What was I going to do?”

“You could have arrested him!”

“I’m not really sure I could have. Look, Ollie, I didn’t really know anything about him when he came to me about Araiza. And then the next time I saw him he was helping me.”

“Yeah? And what about after that? You could have left him for the authorities!”

“He took a bullet for someone! I wasn’t going to just leave him there!”

“You knew who he was, and you just took him home and patched him up?”

“He’s not who you think he is. He’s done some bad things, but –”

“‘Bad things’? He’s a killer!”

“And you aren't?”

Ollie flinched like he’d been slapped. Connor couldn't help but regret the words – he hadn’t meant to be harsh, exactly. But he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t still frustrated with Ollie, or defensive of Jason. Connor sighed. "Ollie, please. Just – trust my judgement here, okay? He's not as bad as you think he is."

"Speaking of what people think about this...” came Mia’s voice from behind them, interrupting their argument. "Were either of you actually going to ask me how I felt here?"

Connor winced slightly. “Sorry, Mia.” He looked back at her. “I really did want to say something before, but everything kind of... happened too fast.”

“Well, then tell him what you think!” Ollie said. “Tell him what that psychopath –”

“Ollie, shut up for a second.” The elder archer did, though maybe more out of surprise than anything. “I’m not exactly happy about this. He kidnapped me, made me fight him. But I’ve had a lot worse happen to me since then. Yeah, I thought about what he said – and no, we’re not getting into that right now – and yeah, I don’t trust the guy as far as I can throw him, but Connor’s already brought him into this, and all I want right now is to just get Lian and find Roy. You’re not doing anything with your ranting, and you’re making a way bigger deal out of this than I am. Just save it, okay?”

Ollie’s eyes widened, then his shoulders slumped slightly. He returned his gaze to the road in front of them, glaring at nothing in particular.

“And... Connor,” Mia began, turning to the younger man. Connor braced himself automatically, not really knowing how to react to that. Mia saved him the trouble of formulating a response, continuing, “I’m not going to bother with some whole big lecture or something, but I just want to say – you know that he’s nuts, right?”

Connor was silent for a few moments. “That’s not how I’d put it,” he responded slowly.

“Well, how would you put it?”

“I don’t know how I’d put it. He gets... ideas sometimes. Sometimes, they’re brilliant. Sometimes, they’re... not. It’s not easy to stop him in either case. He... means well, I guess.”

"You ever ask him why he went after me?"

"Yes." He couldn’t look at her.

"What did he say?"

"Something about Ollie and Roy. It was kind of... hard to follow." Connor couldn’t help but glance at his father, who was watching silently, before looking back at Mia. “I’m not going to apologize for him.”

“Why not?”

“Because he can do it himself. I’m hoping he will.”

She snorted derisively. “I’m not holding my breath.”

Connor shifted uncomfortably.

She was silent for a moment, then glanced up, looking him in the eyes. “Just be careful, okay?” Mia said seriously. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“... all right,” Connor agreed, though he didn’t think that was particularly likely. He wasn’t going to pretend that Jason couldn’t be dangerous, but... Connor never worried about Jason hurting him.  
*******

Dick folded his arms, resting his elbows against the back of the chair. This investigation was going nowhere. With the death of both of their main leads, they had nearly nothing to go on besides a handful of outdated knowledge about the League and a few files that were still being analyzed. “Okay, maybe we’re looking at this wrong. We’ve been scouring anything to do with gambling and loan sharks anywhere, but this guy was a doctor, right? There’s got to be something about that somewhere.”

“I don’t think he was exactly submitting shady dealing with the League of Assassins to Science Magazine here,” Tim said, not looking away from his own computer.

“But he must have had some type of training,” Dick replied. “They’ve probably wiped out all his academic records, but even the League can’t just erase everything to do with whatever school he went to. He was, what, mid-40s? He doesn’t strike me as the early-college type, so we’re looking for someone who went to school somewhere around... 1985? And got his doctorate somewhere in the early 90s. So maybe we see if any grad schools have suddenly lost some data from around then.”

“It’s a weak lead,” Bruce responded. “Digitization is a slow process. If the records only existed in paper form, it could be virtually impossible to discover any missing data in a reasonable timeframe.”

“It’s still better than anything else we’ve got. I say we –” he was cut off by a sudden noise from the computer, the blank mask of Oracle flashing on the main screen. 

Bruce held up a hand to silence Dick, tapping a few keys. “Oracle. Have you found anything?”

“I think so. But you’re not going to like it. Onscreen.” Bruce tapped a few more keys, and the screen shifted, displaying a video window with two figures, Black Canary and... Red Hood? He noticed Bruce tense slightly.

Jason’s body language radiated hostility, arms crossed across his chest and face twisted into a vague scowl, helmet beside him.

“What’s this about?” Dick asked neutrally, unable to take his eyes off of Jason.

“Our case,” Oracle said. “Jason?”

The younger man sighed. “I got a file about a week back,” he began. “Showed up on – my coffee table –” Dick noticed the brief hesitation – “Without any warning. No evidence of a break –in. Nothing but a list of names and some genetic profiles.”

“Missing persons?” Bruce asked. His voice was cold and even, but Dick could hear the slight tension behind it.

“Some of them. Enough to be suspicious. I tracked one of them back to a lab in Singapore. It’d been taken down in a drug bust a while back, but it wasn’t a drug lab. Had cold storage units with blood samples, microscopes, probably for human testing – I figured it was some type of biological weapons thing. Then I found a bit of a fragment of a coded letter in a hidden compartment. League of Assassins code.”

Dick’s eyes widened, and he could see the others tense out of the corner of his eye. He almost couldn’t believe it. Their other leads had run dry, and now... this? It looked like they hadn’t been the only ones to get those files. 

“Convenient,” Bruce said, slightly skeptical, and Jason scowled.

“Oh, fuck you. I know what you’re implying –”

“What did it say?” Tim asked coldly, interrupting him.

“Mentioned a lab over in a little village, Donovsk in Russia. I went to one of the larger towns – well, if you can call it that – nearby, figured I’d see what I could hear. Heard about some type of sickness over in Donovsk, and some doctor who was ‘helping.’ Figured the bastards were doing human testing.”

“What’d you find when you got there?” Dick asked.

“Nothing, haven’t been there. Got called away while I was still figuring out a cover. That was earlier today – yesterday, whatever. ‘Bout 4, 5 hours ago.”

“What happened?”

“I think this is where I come in,” Dinah said. “We’ve been investigating an Intergang-run kidnapping ring for a while now. They had a hit list with names and bounties. We discovered they’d faked the deaths of some of the victims and after we broke up one of their bases, there was evidence that...” Dinah trailed off, then pulled something out of her pocket, holding it so the camera could see. It was... a hat? Like Roy wore as Speedy, only smaller, like the one Lian... oh. Oh. “We think they have Lian,” Dinah confirmed.

Dick couldn’t believe it. “Lian’s alive?!”

“It’s definitely her hat,” Dinah said. “We think that she was held there for a while and hid it for anyone tracking her to find.”

“Hang on, where does Jason come into this?” Dick asked.

Jason’s lips thinned slightly.

“He’s been working with Connor, apparently,” Dinah answered for him. “They’ve been keeping in touch. Connor realized the two investigations might be related and asked him to look into it.”

“They haven’t been too subtle with their poking around,” Jason added. “One of my contacts had heard about assassins being sent after them. Killing Blades, nasty guys. I couldn’t get ahold of Connor to warn him, so I headed down there. Couldn’t slip away fast enough afterwards, so now I have the joy of talking to you.”

“All right, but have you found anything yet?” Dick asked. “How are the rings related?”

“The League’s been going after people with a certain gene,” Jason said. “My bet, people who’re immune to whatever virus they’re cooking up. Intergang’s going after people with the same gene who’re also descended from Vandal Savage. Some Religion of Crime bullshit, not really my area of expertise, but it’s a good bet he’s behind it all.”

“He clearly knows what Ra’s is up too, but I don’t think they’re working together,” Dinah added. “I think he’s playing long game here – he’s going for children who’ll work as soldiers. He wants to challenge Ra’s when the dust has settled.”

“Wait, wait,” Tim said slowly. “Lian was supposed to have died when Prometheus destroyed Star City, but it’s Vandal Savage who’s taken her. Were they working together? Did Vandal just take advantage of the opportunity? Was he behind it? There’s something missing here.”

“That’s a good question,” Dinah replied. “We’ll be sure to ask Vandal that once we find him.”

“Are we done here?” Jason asked, uncrossing and recrossing his arms.

“Yes,” Bruce said. “Black Canary, keep an eye on him.”

Jason snarled. “Fuck y –”

“We’ll be in touch if we need to know anything else. Batman out.”


	24. Chapter 24

They had been sitting in silence for a while when they finally arrived. They’d had to stop a ways out: the base was heavily guarded, but they’d managed to find a decent vantage point. It was an old, large compound building, probably some ex-Soviet place, Mia figured. Armed soldiers patrolled the courtyard, more visible through the windows.

“It looks like they know we’re coming,” Mia whispered. “They don’t have a lot of faith in their assassins, huh?”

“What’s our move?” Connor asked in response.

“The same plan as before,” Ollie said. “We go in fighting.”

“Yeah, I was in a hurry to die,” Mia responded dryly. “Ollie, come on, they’re not even pretending they’re not expecting us to storm the castle. We’ll get our asses handed to us.”

“And you have a better plan?”

“Yeah, I do,” Mia replied. “We find someone who knows the score, and then we bug out with them.”

“She’s right,” Connor said. “Look at them, they’ve clearly had a lot of time to prepare for us to get here. They must have moved Lian, if she was here. Are we going to fight through all those men to get to the leader? If we can avoid engaging anyone else...” he trailed off pointedly.

“Humph.” Ollie folded his arms. “All right, we’ll do it your way.”

Connor pulled an arrow out of his quiver and used it to sketch a crude map in the dirt. “Okay, it looks like their defenses are heaviest here, right? I’m betting that means their leader’s in there. I think if we cause a big enough distraction over here –” he gestured to the other side of the map, “One of us could sneak in and extract him.”

When the hell did Connor get good at tactics? Mia watched him in surprise as Connor continued to outline the plan. It was a good idea – Ollie and Mia would fake a full frontal assault, since they were the ones with the best long range attacks. Connor himself, meanwhile, with his freaky kung fu skills (not that Connor called them that) would sneak in around the back in the chaos caused by the distraction and take out as many guards as he needed to until he found his target. Then they’d hightail it out of there, drive the car to the rendezvous point with Dinah and... Jason, and interrogate him there.

“Well then,” Mia said, standing and brushing herself off. “What are we waiting for?”  
*******

Connor waited nervously for Ollie and Mia to begin their attacks, watching the guards as they patrolled. It had been his plan, but Connor still wasn’t entirely sure. Ollie and Mia would be taking on so many people, from a distance or not... should they have all gone in together? Should he have played distraction? But Connor still couldn’t shoot very well, and it had to be a long-distance attack. Not only would it be foolish to take on so many at once in close quarters, but attacking from a distance left their numbers ambiguous, meaning that the guards couldn’t be sure how many there were, or if any had broken off.

He sighed, fiddling nervously with the strap on his costume. He’d elected to leave his bow and arrows with the others, since they’d be getting more use out of it than him, for several reasons. Connor knew that it would be more of a hindrance than a help here regardless, but he did miss the weight of the quiver on his back somehow.

All at once, the guards seemed to stop, pausing to chatter over their radios before the bulk of them bolted off for the front of the fortress, where Mia and Ollie were undoubtedly beginning their assault. Connor pushed himself up, moving slowly and quietly towards the building under the cover of the chaos and entering through a window. He ignored most of the remaining defenders, slipping past them when their backs were turned – fights drew attention, as did unconscious guards, and the entire point of this was not to take on a large group at once – and made his way to the area he’d identified as the leader’s quarters. Without anything like an internal schematic of the base, Connor was working mostly on loose estimations, and as he drew nearer, Connor’s path became increasingly unclear. Finally, Connor saw a group of four guards standing together, murmuring occasionally to each other in a very familiar language. 

English. With an American accent, even. All the other guards he’d seen had been speaking – well, Connor wasn’t actually sure what language they had been speaking, but it hadn’t been English. So what were Americans doing here, speaking English? Both Intergang and Savage himself had underlings from everywhere, but to bring any all the way out here, there must have been a reason. Even if some or all did speak the local language, it seemed strange to bring so many such a great distance. Unless, perhaps, someone had wanted them there specifically.

Someone very high up.

Moving silently, Connor knocked out the first guard out with one smooth kick, then grabbed the other two from behind, slamming their heads together with force enough to at least disorient them while Connor moved onto the fourth guard. Eyes wide, the remaining opponent backpedaled, reaching for something on his belt. Connor prepared to dodge the bullet... and the guard raised his radio to his mouth.

“Intruder alert! He’s right outside, get out! Reinforcements, to the control room!”

… oops. Not even bothering to continue attacking the guard, Connor just rushed the door, kicking at the lock with his heel a few times. The door was big, sturdy, but not built for that kind of punishment, and the wood splintered, the door flying open to reveal an alarmed looking man scrabbling around for something at his desk.

Gunfire. Connor felt pressure at his back, and realized he must have been shot at least once – well, it’d heal, and he could still move. He bolted for the leader, managing to grab him in a chokehold and swing him around to stand between Connor and the oncoming guards, who immediately held their fire.

“You’re wounded and surrounded,” one of them said. “Surrender now and we’ll make your death quick.”

Connor ignored them, looking around. 

‘Get out.’ That was what the guard who’d sounded the alert had said. He’d obviously been talking to the leader, but Connor had been right outside the only door. Meaning that there must be another exit hidden somewhere. And the man had been doing something at his desk when Connor had broken in... shifting the captured leader to a one-armed hold, Connor dragged him over to the desk, feeling around with a hand on its surface. He encountered something raised, and pressed hard.

A rumbling noise sounded from the wall beside him, and a section of it slid open to reveal a small, dank staircase.

Connor didn’t need any further sign. Striking a pressure point on his struggling prisoner, Connor grabbed him and ran through the tunnel, the guards darting in after him. Connor shoved the semi –conscious man through the opening, then followed him in, sliding the door closed behind him just in time to prevent his pursuers from following. Grabbing his captive once again, he ran.

“I’ve got him,” Connor said over the communicator, feet pounding the old stone. “Let’s go.”


	25. Chapter 25

Jason and Dinah were there already when they got to the rendezvous point. Dinah was doing kata, while Jason sat several yards away with his jacket spread in front of him, cleaning and rearranging the assorted weapons. The brunette looked up as Connor arrived and broke away from Mia, Ollie and the captured man.  
  
"This lecture time?" was all Jason asked when the blonde man sat across from him.  
  
Connor sighed. "I guess not. But I wish you hadn't tried to kill them."  
  
"They almost killed you. I wasn't going to hold anything back.” He looked away from Connor, slipping a cartridge into his gun. “Fits your definition of necessary evil, doesn't it?"  
  
"Apparently not,” Connor said. “They're still alive, and we're all fine."  
  
“Yeah, and I’m sure the local cops can _absolutely_ handle them.” Jason shook his head. "I don't fucking get you sometimes. You fucking admit killing's necessary sometimes – hell, _you've_ killed – and then you pull this type of stuff."   
  
"Sometimes,” Connor emphasized. “Necessary _sometimes_. Not often."  
  
Jason snorted. "I guess you and I just have different standards."  
  
"We knew that already." Connor was silent for a moment. "I don't want you killing someone over me, Jason," he said slowly.  
  
"Yeah? Well, you weren't the only one there." Jason looked back at him sharply. "If I need to to stop them from killing someone, I'm going for the killshots. You've known this for a long time. I'm not going to take _more_ of a chance because someone I give a damn about'll be the victim if I fuck up."  
  
“I’m willing to take that risk,” Connor said.  
  
“ _I’m_ not,” Jason snapped.  
  
"I don't want someone's death on my conscience. Not if I can help it."  
  
“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” Jason snapped. Connor winced, looking away, and he regretted the words.  
  
“Someone _else’s_ death, then,” he said.  
  
Jason didn’t press the point, instead saying, "Then I guess it's a good thing you're not actually responsible for my actions, isn't it?"  
  
Connor was silent for a few moments. "Just... err on the nonlethal side, Jay? For me?"  
  
"... fine. For _you._ " He watched Connor’s face, and could tell that the other man didn't miss the implication. Jason looked down very carefully at the new gun in his hands. "But no promises."  
  
"Thank you," Connor said. He started to lean in towards him, then glanced back at the others and stopped.  
  
Jason shrugged, holstering his remaining pistol and shrugging on the jacket. “Let’s just get going. I want to know what this guy has to say.”

*******

  
Ollie dragged their prisoner off to the side. This was going to get messy but they didn’t have time to do things the nice way. Dumping the man to the ground, Ollie then grabbed him by his hair, pulling him back up. Mia settled herself near them, pointedly playing with her crossbow.   
  
“Lian Harper,” he began without preface. “Little girl, half Vietnamese, black hair. You knew we were coming for her.” Ollie dug his hand into the man’s scalp. “Where. Is. She.”  
  
The bound man spat at Ollie. “Why should I tell you anything?”  
  
“You don’t understand. They took. My granddaughter. And I have run out of patience. If I don’t find out where she is _now_ , I am going to _hurt_ you until you _beg_ to tell me.”  
  
“I vote we castrate him,” Mia chimed in.  
  
“That’s my girl.” Ollie grinned menacingly, stepping back and pulling an Arrow with a wicked looking bladed tip from his quiver.  
  
“No one’s castrating anyone,” Dinah said in a surprisingly casual tone, surprising Ollie – he hadn’t realized she was here. Connor and Hood had apparently joined them at some point, too; this wasn’t something he wanted them to see, for different reasons, but it was too late for that now. Walking over to them, Dinah looked down at the captive man. “Your name is Lok Kao. Two years ago, you were a money launderer for the Skeleton Gorillas in LA. Until you got caught stealing from them and selling their secrets, when you went running to Intergang for protection. And if you don’t tell me where the children were moved right. Now. I am going to have my associate make sure that _everyone_ who has ever. So much as _associated_ with the Gorillas. Knows _exactly_ where you are. And _then_ we are going to go through the files we brought back with you and find out _anyway_. Do I make myself clear?”  
  
Kao sat in silence for a while. “She’s in Mongolia,” he said at last. “Orders from high up, wanted her and a few kids transferred there specifically. The other kids were sent to the other base in New Zealand.”  
  
“What’s in Mongolia?”  
  
“I don’t know. Probably Savage himself. He seemed to have a particular interest in those kids.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Do I look like his personal confidante? All I know is that he wanted the kids trained and taught to take orders.”  
  
“Savage went after Roy and Lian once,” Dinah said in an undertone, keeping her voice low to prevent Kao from hearing. “Maybe she caught his interest somehow.”  
  
“Or he just wants revenge,” Mia added darkly.  
  
“Just tell us the exact location,” Ollie said, once again addressing his words to the bound man.  
  
Kao sighed. “It’s a few hours outside of Kharkhorin. I can give you the exact coordinates if you get me my computer.”  
  
“Do it.” Dinah stood, turning to the others. “Then suit up. We’re teleporting out within the hour.”  
  
  



	26. Chapter 26

They had not been sure what to expect upon arrival. The elder Batman had anticipated a significant resistance force, to that end scouting ahead with Black Bat, the second Batman and an insistent Robin while Batgirl and Red Robin stayed back to keep watch. He had expected guards and fighting. He had not expected a barren base, no sign of life anywhere. Had they left so quickly? Bruce could hardly believe it – there was evidence that the base was active as little as a day ago. How had they found out they were coming? Was it an ambush?

“You’re not going to find anyone, you know,” sounded a sudden voice, and they glanced over in alarm at a young, athletic woman with dark eyes and light brown skin sitting on a nearby chair. She raised her hands to indicate peaceful intent, eyes not leaving theirs. “We knew you were coming. They all went on ahead. I was supposed to stay here and destroy any evidence.”

“You didn’t,” the elder Batman said. It wasn’t a question. “Why?”

“My loyalties don’t lie with the Demon’s Head,” she explained.

“Talia,” he realized. 

He could see Robin tense. “What –” Robin began, but Batman held up a hand to quiet him.

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Someone has been feeding us information,” he asked. “Was it her?”

“Not directly. But yes. All the information you need is on the table.” She gestured. “You are the ones with the codes, yes? Strange. I had placed my money on it being Talia’s former protege. He was so close just yesterday. And after all the trouble to get him here, too.”

“‘Trouble’?” the younger Batman asked from over his shoulder.

“The botched lab evacuation in Singapore, if you know of it,” she said. “He couldn’t be anywhere near Gotham when his murderer escaped. Then there would have been no one on our trail.”

Batman nodded. “This is bold of her. To defy her father so openly...”

“As far as he will know, this was entirely my doing. I was one of the top agents – I knew enough to arrange everything. I was the one who gave the others their orders. And now, I am the one to betray him openly, and tell you of his location. I will take the blame.”

“Then you’ll come with us,” Batman said. “We can arrange for you to be relocated –”

“I don’t need protection,” she said.

“Ra’s will find out what you’ve done. He’ll kill you –” he began.

“I’m already dead,” she said calmly. “Poison. A measure to ensure my cooperation. Ra’s suspects a spy by now. I was supposed to receive the antidote when I reported back. I’d expected to be killed for this later – I suppose Ra’s is efficient. Oh, don’t bother,” she said as he reached for a vial on his belt. “I’ll be dead by the time you figure out what it is. I don’t even have an hour.”

Batman grabbed the report, flipping through it quickly, before glancing back at the woman. “Get her to the Watchtower,” he said, nodding to his younger counterpart. “See if they can do anything for her. Report to the rendezvous point once you’re done.” The other man nodded, offering the woman his arm. She shrugged, but accepted it.

“If you insist,” was all she said.

The younger man tapped the intercom button at his jaw. “Watchtower. Two to teleport up. Code Eight Xavier West Xavier Jack Eagle Four Eagle.” The two dissolved before their eyes, disappearing into a bright beam of light. Turning, he tapped the communicator on his jaw.

“Units Batgirl and Red Robin, this is Batman One. Back to the rendezvous point. We have our next location.”  
*******

They’d set up camp for the night. Mia and Ollie had both protested, but Dinah and Connor had convinced them of the merits of the decision – the League teleporter had gotten them close, to a nondescript site in the mountains maybe a half hour’s hike from Savage’s base, a large, ancient fortress literally carved into the side of the mountain, but they were all tired, in no shape to go storming the metaphorical – and literal – castle.

Mia still didn’t like it. They were giving them too much time to prepare. Savage’s forces were clearly watching out for them, and Mia didn’t like their chances of beating the alarm there. She didn’t want to have to deal with another situation like at the last base, or risk having Lian moved again.

And of course, there was still the matter of the newest addition to their group. She couldn’t help but glance over to the most distant corner of the camp, where the Red Hood had secreted himself after the others went to bed. 

She made her decision.

He was out of costume when Mia approached him, helmet poking out of a duffel bag by his side, jacket on the ground in front of him amidst a large spread of weapons that made Mia hesitate momentarily before the man glanced up at her from the knife he’d been cleaning, attention attracted by the noise of her footsteps. Bracing herself, she walked over closer, flopping down seemingly casually across from him.

For a few moments, they were both silent, staring at each other with measured gazes.

“If you’re here looking for payback, I’m going to suggest you take a raincheck,” he said at last, and Mia couldn’t tell how serious it was.

“Well gee, is there something I should be paying you back for?” she asked sarcastically, and Jason was the first to break the gaze, returning to the knife in his hands.

“I’ve had better ideas,” he said slowly. His eyes darted back to her, glinting blue in the light. “If you’re looking for an apology, you can have one. It was fucking stupid.”

“And what if I’m here to make sure you’re not going to kill us all in our sleep?”

He snorted. “Already got myself into this situation trying to keep you from getting killed.” Jason holstered his knife, moving on to the next piece. “Connor’s... a friend. I owe him a lot. You already know I’m not going to do anything. So why are you really here?”

Mia hesitated, pulling a leg closer to her chest. "I thought about what you were saying, you know," she said at last, trying to make the words sound casual.

“Did you now? Bit late to be listening to warnings, hate to tell you.”

“Is that what that was? A warning?”

“What else do you think it was? Queen’s a scumbag. Tossed his own kid out for getting hooked, and then he got someone else?” He shook his head. “Figured you’d listen. Figured wrong.”

“Yeah, well, do me a favor.” She stood and stretched lightly, seemingly unconcerned. “The next time you want to send me a message, try dropping me an email or something. Or at least wait until I’ve got a big test to break out the C4.”

He snorted. “Noted.”  
*******

The files had given them everything they needed. From the location of their target – an old Moorish mansion in the countryside of Southern Spain – to the fortress’s known weak points – a defunct sewer system, guarded, but less heavily than the rest – to the location of the virus cache – a small building on the grounds, within the walls – their plan of attack had been all but mapped out for them.

Dick wasn’t sure that he trusted it. All the evidence lined up, certainly, but it all seemed so... convenient. The very day their leads had been killed simultaneously, Jason – known to have ties to Talia – had turned up with the information they needed, and then one of Talia’s agents had given them everything, at the cost of her own life. And now Vandal Savage was apparently involved in all of this? It made sense, but at the same time, it was just too... neat. There had to be complications somewhere. He could see that Bruce felt the same way.

Damian, meanwhile, clearly didn’t know how to feel. The ten-year-old remained stoic as ever, but Dick could see the way he fidgeted with his grappler when he thought no one was looking. Dick didn’t blame him. After Talia... well... after Talia, Damian had been pretty torn up about everything. Now, the woman who had cut ties with him – in a pretty damn definitive manner – had delivered them here.

Somehow, the ease of their entrance only made Dick feel even more unsettled. This was Ra’s; League of Assassins stuff was never this easy. But sure enough, they made it unharmed to the storage house the plans had promised, outside the entrance tunnel to the main mansion that was promised to be unguarded.

“Let’s stop for a minute,” Tim said in an undertone. They did. “Okay, am I the only one worrying we’re walking into a trap here?”

“No,” Bruce said. 

“... no,” Dick admitted. 

“I mean, let’s think about this. The moment we get confirmation that the League’s been involved with all of this, both of our best leads are killed within an hour of each other. We go back to our files, start looking for other things... and then Jason Todd shows up and tells us where to go?”

“Well,” Dick said slowly, thinking as he spoke. He’d had the same concerns, but... “Black Canary did vouch for him,” he pointed out.

“And he’s been working with Connor Hawke, hasn’t he?” Steph added. “Connor’s not exactly the type to turn on us.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t have been tricked,” Tim said. “Connor’s a friend, but he’s... been through a lot lately. And he trusts too easily.”

“Red Hood wasn’t lying,” Cass said suddenly. The others turned to her. “Barbara had me watch. No lies.”

“Okay,” Dick said, and was surprised to realize how relieved he felt suddenly. “So he was on the up and up. I guess he could have been tricked, and Talia’s involvement worries me, but we can’t just ignore this lead.” He paused, thinking. “I say we do some recon, make sure the tunnel’s actually empty, that it leads exactly where it needs to.”

“Good idea,” Tim said. “Cass, do you think you could go ahead? You’re the stealthiest of all of us.”

“Don’t we have anything remote?” Steph asked. “Like a little spy device? Maybe we should check that first...”

“Yeah, that’s a good... plan...” Dick said, trailing off slowly as he looked around. “Guys?” he asked slowly.

“What?” Bruce responded.

“Where’s Damian?”


	27. Chapter 27

Ollie checked his quiver, counting the arrows again. He could see Mia doing the same. The others were preparing similarly, Dinah going through a series of complicated stretches, Connor meditating, and Hood strapping guns, knives and God only knew what to various holsters about his body.   
  
“What, you wanna toss a katana in there?” Ollie sneered.   
  
“Yeah, I’ll stick it in my back pocket.” He slid a cartridge into his gun as he spoke, before sticking it into a holster at his back.   
  
The others ignored them, continuing to prepare themselves  
  
“Are we ready to go?” Mia asked.  
  
“I think so,” Connor said, standing. Hood walked over to meet him, and the small smile Connor gave made Ollie want to hurt Hood even more.  
  
He couldn’t understand why Connor trusted the psychopath so much. He was a murderer, a scumbag, not to mention what he’d done in Star City. Done to Mia. Bruce’s psychotic wild child, he’d called him, and Ollie stood by it. He didn’t know what lies Hood told Connor, but he’d thoroughly fooled the boy.  Who knew what trouble he was going to drag Connor into? Ollie would never have let this happen if he’d... been there.  
  
If he’d been around more.   
  
If he’d been a better father.   
  
Hell. He glanced over to where Mia was speaking quietly to Dinah. He should have been a better husband too. Maybe he could take them back to the island where they’d spent the year after the crisis that had devastated the multiverse. It be a good place for Lian to recover. They could work on being a family again. Maybe Roy would... like it. If they could find him. _When_ they found him.  
  
Maybe he could fix all of this.  
  
He snapped back to the present at the hissing sound of Hood’s grapple gun. The others were moving into position as well, and Ollie drew back on his bow and took aim, latching his own grappling arrow onto the wall.  
  
They moved in as quietly as they could, scaling the ropes before stalking slowly in the shadows of the fortress over to the guard tower, their chosen infiltration spot. Ollie took them out with a stun arrow each, Dinah rushing in to make sure that none of them could sound the alarm before they were finished. The guards bound, they slipped down the stairs with light footfalls.  
  
No one was exactly sure where they were going. When a few hours of recon had failed to give them any real clues as to the layout, they’d elected to just go ahead with it and hope there’d be cues once they got in.  
  
“This way,” Hood said suddenly. “There’s more guards, gotta be a reason. I figure it’s either Savage or the kids.”  
  
“Yes, go where there’s _more_ guards, sounds like a great idea,” Ollie snapped.  
  
“Don’t hear you over here with a better suggestion,” Hood retorted.  
  
“Keep it down,” Dinah said.   
  
“Maybe we should split up,” Mia suggested. “We’ve got enough of us here, and it’s already going to be hard to stay stealthy with this many people, not to mention Hood and Ollie bickering over here.”  
  
“That might work,” Connor said, then froze.  
  
“What?” Hood asked.  
  
“I think... I saw something. Hang on.” Connor moved towards the bend in the hallway to the right. Hood started to follow him for a second, then hung back.  
  
There was a sudden burst of gunfire, and Connor came running back to them, blood trickling down from a wound on his arm.  
  
They reacted immediately. Ollie notched an arrow as they dove for cover, but did not release it – he couldn’t loose the net arrow, or really anything with much of an area of effect, until Connor was out of the line of fire.  
  
The moment Connor was back with them, Ollie let a glue arrow fly. Hood, meanwhile, unleashed his own spray of bulletfire, while Dinah tensed beside them, probably readying herself to unleash her Cry if necessary.  
  
“Jason, don’t kill them,” Connor said.  
  
“Secret identity, _Green Arrow_ ,” Hood retorted, sending out another spray of fire.  
  
“I agree with Hood,” Ollie said, much as the words pained him. “Shoot to kill if you can.”  
  
“No!” Connor said. “It’s not... we... we can...” he trailed off as more guards arrived, drawn in by the commotion, and Ollie felt almost guilty to see the realization striking him. Teaming up with killers or not, it looked like Connor still wasn’t happy with having to use lethal force.  
  
“Shoot to kill,” Ollie repeated.  
  
“No,” Dinah said suddenly, and Cried.  
  
Jammed in the hallway as they were, the advancing guards had nowhere to shelter themselves from the sonic attack, stumbling back into each other. Ollie glanced at Dinah briefly as she broke off her attack, coughing slightly – she was overusing her Cry; Ollie knew she wasn’t going to be able to do that again for a bit. He grabbed another glue arrow. “Okay, I’ll see if I can wall them off –”  
  
The sound of thundering footsteps came from the hallway to their left, and a hand on the back of Ollie’s hood pulled him down just in time to avoid the hail of gunfire.  
  
“We’re surrounded!” Connor cried out.  
  
“Nicely spotted!” came Hood’s voice from behind him – _right_ behind him; it must have been Hood who’d grabbed him.  
  
“You really need to cut the sarcasm, kid,” Dinah said hoarsely.  
  
“Think we’ve got bigger problems right now,” Mia said.  
  
She was right. The number of guards attacking them had more than doubled now; forming practically a small army.  
  
“We need to fall back!” Connor said.   
  
“Can’t,” Hood replied.  
  
“Then – then –” Connor began, clearly drawing a blank on what to do next. He was hardly alone in that.  
  
A voice came from behind them, loud and painfully familiar. “Looks like you could use some reinforcements, huh?”  
  
Ollie looked behind him, unable to believe what he was hearing. “ _Roy_?!”

*******

  
Damian slipped carefully through the hallway, sticking to the shadows. It was, as was apparently promised, unguarded, but he didn’t trust the information.  
  
He needed to see his mother. Needed to talk to – to find out what she was plotting now.  
  
Damian had never been to this compound before, but he had some idea where Talia was likely to be positioned. At the center of the compound, where the security was highest; it was the most secure, ensuring that no one could get in (or out).   
  
It was all so familiar, really. With the ancient decor, the guards screaming League in their every movement, and the security, Damian could almost believe that this was just another training exercise. Not that he missed any of it, of course. He had sided with Grayson and his father; he wanted nothing to do with his mother anymore, except to know what was happening.  
  
One of the advantages of Damian’s smaller size that everyone always forgot about was the benefits it gave to his stealth. It was extraordinarily easy for him to slip past grown men, clamber through small spaces, and so on. (It was an _advantage_ , Brown.)  
  
Still, getting into his mother’s room itself was difficult. The guards posted in front of it were some of his grandfather’s best. But Damian had surpassed all of his trainers long, long ago; they were no match for him. He entered through the air duct system, something that must have been installed into the ancient building reasonably recently. Even for him, it was cramped – no grown man would have stood a chance of infiltration – but moving slowly, carefully, he managed to crawl over to the nearest vent, following the sound of familiar voices.  
  
Grandfather and mother were talking.  
  
Damian peered carefully through the grate, squinting his eyes to see through the closely-spaced slats. He had surveillance tools in his belt, but not the room to move his arms to retrieve them. He would have to remember to get them out in advance the next time he did this. Well, something like this, of course: he would never be back to this particular fortress. This was not a training exercise, after all.  
  
His mother was sitting on the couch in the middle of the large room, grandfather standing across from her. She looked... tense? No, that couldn’t be right. She was relaxed, of course, in the lap of luxury, legs pulled up and what he imagined to be a bored expression on her face, though he could not see well enough to tell.  
  
“It seems we have intruders,” Ra’s said. Damian froze, preparing himself to fight, but his grandfather did not look in his direction. The others had been discovered? “One of your servants has turned on us, Talia.”  
  
“Which one?” his mother asked, her voice bored.  
  
“Nahid,” he replied. Damian could see him turn slightly, his hands clasped behind his back. “She was the one assigned to the base in the Ural Mountains. It appears she’s been feeding information to the Detective for some time.”  
  
“I’m sorry to hear that. She was a very good servant. Where is she now?”  
  
“Dead, I imagine. I had her poisoned.”  
  
“You should have let me take care of her myself,” Talia said, sounding vaguely affronted.  
  
“Should I? I can’t imagine you would punish someone who was following your orders, Talia,” his grandfather said. Damian twitched slightly, then forced himself to be still. His mother did, too. The immortal turned to face her completely. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”  
  
“... no,” she admitted. “Though I had hoped it would take longer to be discovered.”  
  
“Yes, you’ve played your part well,” he said. “I had thought you had let go of the boy too easily...” he said. Damian’s breath caught slightly in his throat. “Tell me, did you believe it would make me think you were loyal, or were you simply trying to keep him out of this?”  
  
“Both, I suppose,” she said evenly, then paused. “Did you expect me to do nothing about this abhorrent plan of yours, Father? You must have known I would never approve.”  
  
“Of course not. But I had to know.”  
  
“Know what?”  
  
“How far you were willing to go to defy me.” He turned. “It’s been far too short a time since my return. My authority has.. weakened. ”  
  
“And mine has not.” She paused. “So you wished to see the true loyalties of the ranks, then? Who would follow you over me?”  
  
“Of course. You know I have tried this before. I would have liked it to work, but I had no expectations. But for such a dramatic course of action, any potential defector’s hand would be forced. Will you revolt openly, then?”  
  
“I haven’t decided. What do you intend to do now, Father?”  
  
“Reestablish control. Eliminate the dissenters.”  
  
“You won’t kill me.”  
  
“ _You_? No.”  
  
He heard his mother gasp. “ _No_.”  
  
“Come, daughter. Did you really expect you could save him by casting him out? That I would believe the ploy?”  
  
Damian choked slightly. His body seeming to move without his command, he inched closer to the grate, attempting to get a better look.  
  
“Father, _please_. This is between us.”  
  
“You’ve left me little choice, Talia.” Closer. Closer. Damian’s face was pressed against the grate now, his lungs seeming to fail him. His grandfather turned to the door. “The guards will keep you here.”  
  
“No!” Talia cried.  
  
He heard the scraping of the metal too late. Damian tried to pull back, but the duct was too small, preventing him from jerking back, which left him only one route.  
  
He tumbled into the room below.

*******

  
“Roy!” Connor cried out. “What happened? Are you –”  
  
“You want to spend _now_ catching up?” Roy asked, firing into the crowd of guards. He had a gun in his left hand, his right arm having been replaced by a large, gleaming prosthetic. He was far from alone: behind him stood – was that _Cheshire_? And five more people Connor didn’t recognize, including a man wearing something that looked like a palette-swapped Batman costume, a slight man wearing a blank white facemask and a checkered outfit, a large man in a Luchador mask, and a woman with short reddish brown hair, brown skin, a facemask, and some type of pronged weapon in each hand, and a tall red-haired woman wearing a green spandex outfit.  
  
“Well, that’s interesting,” Jason commented quietly beside him.  
  
“No way,” Mia said.  
  
“They’re blocking our way, honey,” the red –haired woman said.  
  
“What do you think?” the short-haired woman replied. “Right, or left?”  
  
Grinning, the redhead asked, “Why not both?” She landed suddenly in front of them, standing right in front of Ollie facing the guards.  
  
“You want to get a move-on?” Roy asked. He walked over to them, ignoring the sounds of combat beginning as the redhead began to engage the guards. Roy turned to Ollie. “Lian. Which way.”  
  
“More guards came from the left,” Jason answered him. “Gotta be something big that way.”  
  
“But is it Vandal, or the kids?” came the short-haired woman’s voice. “Or both?”  
  
“Let’s find out,” Cheshire said.  
  
“What the hell is going on here?” Dinah asked at last, summing up Connor’s thoughts nicely.  
  
“Guess someone found Roy,” Jason said, and Connor felt a tug on his arm. “Come on, our stealth entrance is blown. We’re sitting ducks here.”  
  
They followed the red –haired woman cautiously as she drove back the guards, Roy, Cheshire and the others falling in step with them.  
  
“Roy... I...” Ollie began.  
  
“Save it,” Roy said. He wasn’t looking at any of them. “I’m just here for my daughter. You want to help, fine. But just... don’t start.”  
  
Ollie shut up, looking ahead. They fired intermittent shots at the few guards who followed them, but for the most part, they were fleeing, radioing frantically to each other in the chaos.   
  
“Did Oracle find you?” Dinah asked.  
  
“No. I caught wind of this myself.” He glanced at the short-haired woman. “Ran into someone _else_ looking for Savage, too.”  
  
“Scandal Savage,” Dinah said. “Vandal’s daughter.” She turned to the other Arrows. “And most of the members of the Secret Six. They’re a mercenary group; the Birds of Prey clashed with them a while ago, apparently. I wasn’t there, but I’ve heard... some things about them.” She turned to Scandal. “Though you seem to be missing a few members.”  
  
“Someone needed to cause a distraction,” she said.  
  
Jason had a different question. “His daughter?” he asked. “Not thinking we’re heading for a warm and fuzzy family reunion here.”  
  
“He wants me to be his heir,” Scandal said. “I don’t. And now I guess he’s getting all my distant cousins together to be his private army. Hate for them all to repeat my childhood.”  
  
“Are you here for revenge, or to save the kids?” Dinah asked seriously.  
  
Scandal shrugged. “Why not both?”  
  
  



	28. Chapter 28

“We should split up.” It was – of all people – Bane making the suggestion this time, looking at the branching hallways in front of them.  
  
“You sure?” Catman asked, instead looking at the group around him.  
  
“He’s right,” Connor said. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”  
  
“The whole compound’s after us now,” Catman said. “I mean, I’m not saying no; I’m not thinking we’re going to exactly mesh in a fight here. Still, you should know that before we divide our forces.”  
  
“We need to move quickly,” Mia said. “And besides, it’s looking like we might have two different objectives here...” she looked around at the rest of the group, eyes lingering on Savage’s daughter, who nodded.  
  
“I’m going after my father,” she said. “I want to end this. And you want the kids. Or one kid in particular.” She glanced at Roy.  
  
“I want both,” Cheshire said. She snarled. “He betrayed me. After our work together, he took my child. I won’t allow that to stand.”  
  
“Seem to remember you betraying him first,” Catman chimed in. “And us, too. Remind me again why we let her come along?”  
  
“Like you could have stopped me,” Cheshire replied. “I will present my daughter with Savage’s severed head. I wouldn’t suggest standing in my way.”  
  
“Would that even kill him?” Mia asked.  
  
“Oh, I sincerely hope not,” Cheshire replied.  
  
“If I may,” the creepy fuck in the porcelain mask said, “While the lovely large lady may have stayed behind to smash the guards, and we have our other members making a wonderful mess of a distraction elsewhere, it seems to me that we are dawdling unnecessarily. Why not make this easy? Everyone looking to save the lovely little girl, stand on the left –” he pointed – “And everyone to bloody the immortal, to the right.”  
  
Scandal looked around at the others for a moment. “This isn’t your fight, you know,” she said. “I can do this by myself –”  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Catman said. “We’ve heard that before. We’re going with you.”  
  
“I as well,” Bane added, standing next to her. Ragdoll followed, doing some strange dancing thing.  
  
“Take care of our daughter, lover,” Cheshire said, running a finger down Roy’s chest, long, poison nail barely skimming the surface of his suit. “I’ll bring you his head.”  
  
“Right,” Roy said, stepping back and looking at the others. “Looks like you’re all coming with me.” He turned around without waiting for confirmation, heading down the hallway they’d estimated most likely had Lian. The others split off, going to look for Savage.  
  
“Are we really going to let her come with us?” he heard Catman ask as they walked. “Didn’t she try to kill us all?”  
  
“In fairness, have any of us not tried to kill us all?”  
  
Compared to the mess of guards earlier, it was almost eerie how empty the hallways were. Whatever distraction the missing Secret Six members had going on, it must have been a hell of a show.  
  
They walked more or less in silence, weapons ready, peering inside various doors. Jason wound up being drafted to pick the locks of several of them, each one apparently empty – but recently vacated. Bedrooms with rows of sparse beds, a few weapon repositories – Jason and Roy took the opportunity to stock up on a few things – and what looked like training rooms.  
  
After long enough encountering only a few guards – who, after Connor and Dinah insisted, were reluctantly permitted to live – they began to get bolder, even taking turns calling out Lian’s name in hope of a response.  
  
“Lian!” Roy shouted. “ _Lian_!”  
  
“Da –!” came a muffled voice from a hallway to the left, her cry suddenly cut off.  
  
They ran, Roy smashing the door with little ceremony and bolting into the room. The others followed, Jason last.  
  
He raised an eyebrow as he took in the scene before him. Lian was sitting at gunpoint between several armed men, with one particular figure standing out to the side. Apparently, splitting up had been a mistake after all.  
  
Vandal Savage was here.

*******

  
Cass ran quickly with quiet feet, looking around for Damian. They had split up to look for him; Cass went into the place with the most guards, because she probably would not die. Also, she thought that Damian would be here. Cass had seen his conflict, but had not thought that he would run away. Stupid. Her and him.  
  
Cass mostly avoided the guards, but could not avoid them all. That was okay: she could ask them questions when she defeated them. They refused to say, but they still answered when she asked.  
  
“Where is Talia?” she asked, and ran the way they wanted her to not go.  
  
She stopped avoiding the guards when she saw the men in front of the door and knew from their bodies that whatever they were guarding was very important. Talia, or maybe Ra’s, or maybe the – germ? She did not know exactly.  
  
They were very good fighters. She had to take them all on together, which made them even better. Fists and kicks flashed through the air as they battled, and Cass was surprised when one drew blood. She nodded to him, then drove her fist into his chest.   
  
It was mostly blocks and nerve strikes. For all fighters. Cass had managed to paralyze one when she heard the scream. “No!”  
  
She moved more quickly. She knocked two out at once, then broke the last one’s knee. It took too long; she could hear more noise from inside. Shouting and fighting.  
  
Cass drove her foot into the door. Talia was standing in front of Damian, and Ra’s was in front of her. She noticed the sword across his back and frowned.  
  
Damian looked hurt – he was leaning to one side. Something was wrong with his leg. And his arm, she thought after a second. All of them were looking at her with surprise, so Cass ran in and got into her stance.  
  
“Give up,” Cass said.  
  
“No,” Ra’s said.  
  
Cass raised a fist. “I will hurt you.”  
  
“Will you have time?” Ra’s asked. “My agents are already shipping out the virus. It’ll take more time than you have to fight me and stop them.”  
  
“I am very fast,” Cass replied.  
  
“They’re on the south wing of the first floor,” Talia said. She grabbed Damian, who looked confused. “Take him. Get him to safety.”  
  
Ra’s looked... surprised? He turned to Talia. “Who?”  
  
Talia was satisfied. “Did you think I had exhausted my agents, Father?”  
  
“ _Who_?” He clenched his fists.  
  
“Figure it out,” she said, grabbed Damian, and ran towards Cass. “He can’t walk,” she said urgently.  
  
“Take him,” Cass replied. “I will fight Ra’s.”  
  
“Will you... kill him?” Talia asked.  
  
“I do not kill.” She took off her communicator and pressed it into Talia’s hand. After that, she stood in front of Talia and Damian as they left and waited for Ra’s to attack.  
  
He did, with the sword. Cass dodged out of the way of the blade, striking at him with a palm.  
  
Ra’s was not Shiva, but he was still a very good fighter. Like Batman, but a killer. Cass moved to take his sword, and kicked it out of his hand. He did not try to keep it, but hit a point on her foot. It went numb.   
  
Cass had fought like this before, but it was still weird when she could not feel her foot. It slowed her down. She stepped back and slid into her stance again. She moved her toes in her boot to try to feel it again.  
  
Ra’s rushed her with his hands now. He aimed at a pressure point on her chest, so she grabbed one of his fingers and broke it. His body tensed with pain, but he did not cry out. Cass tried to put him in a lock, but he broke free and swept at her numb foot.  
  
Cass fell to the ground and rolled.  
  
It really was like fighting Batman... but also not. It was as _hard_ as fighting him, but that did not mean it was the same thing.  
  
She almost would have preferred to fight Batman; she had fought him before and did not have to learn how he moved. But she also felt less guilty about hitting Ra’s, so that was good.  
  
She jumped up, then let Ra’s hit her arm, but moved so it was not in her nerve cluster. It let her get the hook kick to his knee. Now he was the one on the ground, so Cass tried to hit a point in his leg so he would also have a numb leg, but he rolled over so she missed. Ra’s started to stand; Cass kicked the back of his knee so he would fall.   
  
No, he was prepared for that. Ra’s rolled forward before she could follow, and she saw his shoulder tense. Cass knocked away the knife as she took a stance.  
  
Ra’s was standing now. Cass watched him carefully, reading him. The man was fast and... quiet? He was always in control, and his motions were small. Cass could still read him, but he made it as hard as he could.  
  
Ra’s was a _very_ good fighter.   
  
He was smart, too. She could see what he was planning, but it did not matter; she had to dodge the knife just as much. She thought, and decided where to let him strike. There was a point on her side that would work.   
  
He moved at her quickly, and Cass felt pain in her chest where he hit. Her mouth turned up in a grin; he had done it. She jerked her arm down as fast as she could, and his hand was trapped.  
  
He hadn’t been expecting that. His eyes widened a bit, and he tried to pull away. With her free hand, she broke his nose.  
  
“I can see what you are doing,” she said, then punched him in the chest. She was not surprised when he grabbed her shirt with his trapped hand and tried to pull her in. Cass let the knee strike her stomach; it let her grab under his knee and turn it.  
  
He fell to the ground, his leg still in her hand. Something in his body tensed, and Cass could not move in time to stop him. There was pain in her numb foot; he had put his knife through it.  
  
When he tried to pull free, Cass held on tight for a moment, then threw him down hard. He rolled when he hit the ground, but could not land like he had meant to. Cass started to lean down to grab the knife, but there was triumph in his face, and she stopped.  
  
It hurt when she pulled her foot up, but Cass did not care, and the floor came off the knife before her foot did. Careful of the knife’s edge, she slammed her heel onto his throat, and this time he did cry out, a little bit.  
  
With no breath, he could not sit back up. Cass tried to move towards him, but the knife would not let her, so she pulled it out. When Ra’s rolled away, she threw it into his cloak so he was pinned to the ground. She put her foot down gently to see how much she could trust it while he pulled free.  
  
She frowned, thinking.  
  
Cass was not really worried that she would lose. But she did think it might take a while, and  she was hurt, and that could be a problem. She could not tell if the others needed help anymore; she had given Talia her communicator so she could tell them where to go and make sure Damian was okay. She wished she had another one. She would like to know if she should keep fighting Ra’s or leave.  
  
Ra’s coughed as he stood, looking at her like he was measuring her. His voice was rough. “You are... everything I’d hoped you’d be,” Ra’s said slowly.  Except loyal. A pity.”  
  
“I am loyal,” Cass said. “To the Bat.”  
  
“I suppose you are,” Ra’s said. Cass watched him and waited for him to move. She considered striking first, but decided she shouldn’t. He seemed to want her to, and that was all she needed not to do it.  
  
“You can’t beat me,” she said. “You should give up.”  
  
“No,” he corrected. “I can’t _outfight_ you.”  
  
“What?” she asked. Something was wrong. She saw Ra’s shift, and knew he was planning something. Cass ignored her injured foot and lunged. She tried to grab his hand, but was too slow. What he was holding exploded in her face.  
  
Smoke. It burned at her skin, and it hurt when she breathed. Cass had to fall over and cough.  
  
“Don’t worry, it’ll wear off,” she heard. “I wouldn’t damage you this way.” Her vision was... vibrating? It was awful. She thought she was going to throw up. “You’ve surprised me.”  
  
She heard footsteps behind her. Cass tried to follow, but she could not stand. She thought to call the others, but did not have her communicator. She was... helpless.  
  
She could not see anything anymore. Cass was not sure if she was blind or if she had passed out. No, she could not think if she had passed out. She just could not move. It felt like forever and a second. It hurt. Cass... did not like it.  
  
Then her mind was slowing, and she really did pass out.


	29. Chapter 29

“So,” Savage said slowly, leaning back in his chair. “What is going to happen here?”  
  
Roy, for his part, mostly ignored him, his eyes drawn to one particular figure in the middle of the circle of gunmen.  
  
Lian. Lian, tied up, in danger, and upset, but alive, breathing, and _okay_. Roy hadn’t quite been able to bring himself to believe it before this moment, to believe that it wasn’t just another hallucination, even though he’d made sure to get clean when he started the investigation. The sudden wave of relief in his gut threatened to overwhelm everything else – including the gravity of the situation they were in.  
  
“Let her go, Savage,” he heard Dinah say, and reality returned to him all at once. His eyes darted back to the immortal across from them, and his grip tightened on the gun in his hand. “It’s over,” Dinah continued.  
  
“I don’t think so,” he said. He sat up slowly, folding his hands in front of him. He turned to look at Roy specifically. “I think it’s pretty clear that I still have –” he gestured at the Lian – “The upper hand.”  
  
“What are you offering?” said a voice from behind him, and Roy turned slightly, a bit startled. He’d forgotten that Jason Todd was even with them.  
  
Savage laughed a little. “This one’s smart. Are you going to make a deal, my helmeted friend?”  
  
“Couldn’t if I wanted to, but I’m tired of the melodramatics here,” he said. “Your base is getting more and more trashed by the second, the Arrows have been destroying your little kidnapping rings, and now you’ve set up this nice little hostage situation. You know we’re not going to just walk, so – if I can make a guess here – you’re about to offer a trade, aren’t you? The kid in exchange for walking out of here and going back to your operations.”  
  
“Don’t piss him off, Hood,” Mia said.  
  
“Why not? He’s got everything to lose by shooting her. He’s not going to touch a hair on her head.”  
  
“You’re right,” Savage said. He stood. “That is my offer. I allow you to walk away with Lian, and in return, you leave me be.”  
  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ollie said. “You can’t just expect us to let you keep doing this.”  
  
“That is _exactly_ what I expect,” Savage said. “You are here for the child. If you want to leave with _her_. No one else. You will stop interfering in my operations, or she will die.”  
  
“Ra’s’s plan isn’t going to work, you know,” Mia said. “Batman’s over there right now making sure of it. You don’t even need the kids.”  
  
“Don’t I?” he asked. “Whether Ra’s succeeds now or a century from now, it doesn’t matter. He will, eventually, succeed. And when he does, it’s been ensured that I will have an army of my own flesh and blood at my command.”  
  
“‘It’s been ensured’?” Connor asked.  
  
“You were working with Prometheus, weren’t you?” Mia realized aloud.  
  
“Of course,” Savage replied. “He approached me some time ago to tell me of Ra’s al Ghul’s plans. He offered me all the information I needed in exchange for some of my... connections.”  
  
“So what, Star City, that was all just some big _distraction_?” Ollie was furious. “Thousands of people dead so you could get Lian?!” he shouted.  
  
“Hardly. He would have attacked regardless,” Savage said, sounding almost bored. “But Lian has... great potential. I asked Prometheus to ensure that she lived, and that you all believed she died. Apparently, he failed.” There was a loud crashing noise from outside. “Our time here is running short. Answer me – save Lian and leave, or attack me, and invite her death?”  
  
“We’re not going to bargain with lives,” Dinah said, though she seemed to waver slightly. She glanced back at him. “Roy?”  
  
Roy didn’t answer.  
  
Roy was still looking at his daughter.  
  
“Don’t!” Lian yelled, and her voice was like a knife in his heart.  
  
“Shut up,” one of the gunmen snarled. Roy wanted nothing more than to snap his neck.  
  
“If I can interject,” Jason said quietly from the back. “We don’t actually have any ability to call off the Six, do we?”  
  
“No,” Connor said.  
  
“Does he know that?” Jason asked.  
  
“I... don’t know.” Connor sounded confused.  
  
“So we say yes, and leave him to them?” Roy asked.  
  
“You’re missing the point,” Mia said.  
  
“What?” Roy asked.  
  
“If he gives us Lian, how will he make sure we keep our word? How will he make sure they get called off?” Jason asked. “This isn’t adding up.”  
  
“You were the one who thought he was offering this in the first place!” Roy snapped.  
  
“I said he was offering, not that he meant it,” Jason added.  
  
“... he’s right,” Ollie said quietly.   
  
He was, damn it. Roy clenched his fist, then looked up at Savage. Loud enough for the other man to hear, he said – “Deal.”


	30. Chapter 30

Tim ducked into the nearby shadows to avoid the passing guard, making his way slowly through the fortress. They had split up to search, each agreeing to take a different part of the compound and report if they found either of their targets. Tim had volunteered for this section – he was, by now, familiar with the way Ra’s tended to lay out his bases, and he had a feeling the virus would be stored somewhere in this area. As for their other objective... well, Tim doubted that he’d run into Damian here, unless the brat had decided to try to stop the bioweapon distribution himself – that wouldn’t surprise him now that he thought about it, actually. He’d have to make sure to keep an eye out for him after all.  
  
“You need to go to the south wing of the first floor,” sounded a sudden, familiar voice from his communicator, not one Tim had expected to hear, and he froze. “There’s a loading dock. They’re setting up the virus to distribute there. One of my agents is waiting.”  
  
“How did you get on this channel?” Bruce demanded in reply.  
  
“The Cain girl gave me her communicator,” Talia replied. “She stopped to confront my father while I took Damian.” Tim’s eyes widened at her words. Cass was fighting _Ra’s_?   
  
Dick had different priorities. “Damian?” Dick asked urgently. “Is he okay? Where are you?”  
  
There was a murmur of voices, and then Damian’s voice sounded over the channel. “I’m fine,” he said. “Go help Cain.”  
  
“Where is she?” Steph asked.  
  
“On the third floor, in the central wing,” Damian instructed. “The third room on the left from the stairs.”  
  
“I can get there!” Steph said. “Just give me a few minutes.”  
  
“I’ll go too,” Dick said. “Unless you guys need backup?”  
  
“We’re _fine_ ,” Damian insisted. “Go help her!”  
  
Tim hesitated briefly, considering going after her as well before deciding against it. Cass could handle herself, especially with Dick and Steph going to back her up. She would be fine. But Tim was closest to the location, meaning that he had the best chance of destroying the shipment before it was too late, and if they were loading now, time was of the essence.  
  
Assuming it wasn’t a trap.  
  
Then again, they’d been operating under the assumption that Talia was on the up and up for a long time now. It was beyond too late to get paranoid. Dodging out of sight of a patrolling guard, Tim began to make his way to the indicated location. Sure enough, when he arrived he saw several of Ra’s’s lackeys loading several large, unlabeled containers onto a nearby boat. There were a handful of other vessels surrounding it, but they all seemed to be inactive for now – meanwhile, the ship being loaded seemed ready to leave.  
  
Hidden in the shadows, Tim tapped his communicator, speaking quietly. “I’m here. They’re loading something now. I’m counting a crew of at least ten, plus more on the boat. I’m going to need backup.”  
  
“I’m on my way,” Bruce said.  
  
Tim didn’t respond, turning his eyes back to the scene in front of him. He had to get onto that boat, but he also had to make absolutely sure the contents of the containers weren’t released. Fortunately, they seemed reasonably secure for the moment, presumably to prevent rupturing during shipping. There may have been a way for them to detonate them if he moved in, but Tim doubted the men would do that even if it they could – releasing the payload here, instead of in any dense population center, would be a waste of carefully cultivated resources. More likely, they would just fight him head-on – and, considering their overwhelming numbers, they would win. Even with Bruce, the fight would be close. He needed an alternative tactic.  
  
“I’m here,” Bruce said, surprising Tim. He’d expected the first Batman to take longer – he must have been on his way already when Tim called for backup.  
  
“What’s the plan?” Tim asked.  
  
“The first priority is the boat,” he responded. “They won’t be able to move the other containers quickly enough if they can’t launch it.”  
  
“We can’t sink it,” Tim said. “Destroy the propulsion systems? But we’re still going to have to take out most of them.”  
  
Bruce grunted his assent. “Disable the engines,” he ordered. “I’ll take care of the guards outside. Signal me when you’re ready.”  
  
“Copy that,” he replied, and said no more.  
  
The engines. The ship looked fairly new – the engine room would probably be somewhere near the back, then. He had no idea how heavily guarded it would be – would they be focused enough on their cargo to ignore the room, or would they be sure to cover the most vulnerable part of the ship? He decided to assume the latter.   
  
That left him the question of how to get in. He’d have to go through the water, he realized. He could go up the side of the ship that was hidden from view. Tim detached his cape before working his way down to the dock. Slipping in his rebreather, he sunk into the cold water, swimming carefully for the ship. He resurfaced close enough to touch the hull with his hand. Seeing no immediate way up, he pulled out his grappler, hooking it onto the edge of the ship, and pulled himself up... and right into sight of one of the guards. Damn. Tim rolled onto the deck, sliding a few throwing stars into his hand.  
  
The man motioned for him to be quiet, and Tim faltered.  
  
“Where?” the man mouthed. This was Talia’s agent, Tim realized.  
  
“Engine,” he mouthed back. The other man nodded and pointed the way.  
  
The engine room wasn’t far. It looked like Talia’s agent had been the only one assigned to guard the area, and so Tim slipped in unchallenged. He tapped his communicator. “Go,” he said. There were a few moments of silence, then the sounds of battle began outside. Tim tuned it out, focusing on the task at hand. He wasn’t exactly an expert on ship engines, but if there was one thing he knew, it was how to jam machinery.  
  
Not that it was easy. The mechanisms were big, and meant to take a lot of punishment. Tim set to work cutting wires and disconnecting pipes, but the engine was still limping along when the door burst open suddenly. He dove for cover in time to avoid the gaze of three League assassins, none of them the guard he’d passed. He’d been discovered. Tim weighed his options as the men drew closer, searching around for him but sticking together. Even if he could somehow leave without their notice, the engine was still running – he would have failed his task. He needed to take these men out. Tim slid a smokebomb into his hand, waiting for them to get closer. When they were nearly on top of him, he flung his projectile, then leapt out at them while they were stunned.  
  
Tim got lucky with the first one; the man had been looking for him on the other side, and Tim was able to hit him square in the jaw, knocking him unconscious. The other two, however, reacted more quickly; the next one Tim struck at deflected his attack, lashing out at his chest with a kick of her own. His body armor prevented the blow from winding him, but it did stagger him, allowing the other agent to seize him in a chokehold.  
  
He seized the arm around his neck, jerking his head back into his attacker’s nose. The man holding him grunted in pain, and his grip loosened enough for Tim to pull free of the arm, dropping to the floor and kicking out at the woman advancing on him. Unable to see him well enough through the lingering smoke to dodge his attack, she fell to the floor. Without standing, Tim jerked his elbow into the knee of the man behind him, then launched himself up with a spinning back kick. It connected with the man’s head, and he hit the ground hard. He did not get back up.  
  
The woman, meanwhile, was standing once again. The smoke was clearing now, and her eyes fixed on him, her expression determined. They took measure of each other for a breath, before she launched herself at him with a kick towards his throat. Prepared for her attack this time, Tim caught her leg, stepping backwards quickly in an attempt to throw her off-balance. She stumbled, then very deliberately fell to the floor, the sudden weight jerking her free from Tim’s grip.  
  
He sent his leg out in a strike of his own, but she rolled out of the way, pushing herself up onto all fours before diving to wrap her arms around his knees. He grabbed at a nearby pipe for balance, but toppled regardless, and she took the opportunity to aim a punch at his chin. Tim cried out in pain, his grip slipping from handhold, and then they were both on the floor, grappling. Tim grabbed the back of her head with both hands and jerked his head forward to headbutt her. She fell back, stunned, and he took the opportunity to reverse their positions, pinning her to the floor. She aimed another strike at his chin, but he was prepared for it this time, and he grabbed onto her upper arms with each hand, driving his knee into her stomach to wind her. She cried out slightly, and Tim took the moment she used to get her breath back to release her. With his now –free hand, he struck out at her, hitting a pressure point on her neck, and finally, she was unconscious.  
  
Breathing heavily, Tim stood, looking around to ensure that all three guards had been incapacitated, and that no more were coming. Once he was sure that he was once again free to work, he returned to the engines. His work was made quicker when he found the toolbox in the back of the room, allowing him to throw a rather literal spanner in the works, as well as to undo a few very crucial junctions. Finally, the engine began to protest, making earsplitting screeching and grinding noises before something snapped, and all was quiet.  
  
Without skipping a beat, Tim left the room. There was no sign of Talia’s agent as he ran to the front of the ship, which somehow relieved and concerned him simultaneously. He ran to the side of the ship nearest the dock and looked overboard; he could see Bruce now, in the midst of battle with at least 10 men. Tim hurried to the boarding plank, sprinting down to back the man up. He was nearly there when some of the assassins stopped suddenly, looking around at each other. Tim hesitated as he neared the fray, watching the men in an attempt to understand the newest development. Bruce did too, taking the opportunity to slide into a better stance.  
  
A few seconds passed, none of the combatants moving. Then all at once, the assassins tensed, preparing for action. Tim did as well, ready to attack... and then the men began to run, heading for the interior of the mansion. Tim was stunned into stillness for a moment, before Bruce gave chase, and he realized that he should, too.  
  
“What happened?” he asked as they ran.  
  
“Orders to retreat,” Bruce said.  
  
They moved as quickly as they could, but the fleeing assassins had too much of a head start. The last of the group made it into the large building before they had caught up, closing the door in their face. Tim swore, and they quickly blew the lock with a small explosive, but it was no use. By the time they had opened the door, there was no one in sight.  
  
“They guards are retreating,” came Dick’s voice over the communicator suddenly, startling Tim slightly – he’d all but forgotten about the others. He felt a little guilty as he remembered just where they were. “We were fighting some, and then they just left.”  
  
“I believe my father has fled,” Talia responded. “He’s called all his agents with him. The only ones who remain are under my command.”  
  
“The virus –” Dick started.  
  
“Has been secured,” Bruce replied.  
  
“We won?” Steph asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Tim responded. He let out a deep breath. “We won.”

*******

  
“Wh –” Dinah began, but cut herself off, apparently realizing Roy’s plan. The others around him did the same.  
  
Savage raised an eyebrow. “And this is a unanimous decision?”  
  
“Yes,” Mia said. “It is.”  
  
Savage stood. “Then I’ll escort you from the premises.” He waved a hand, and his gunmen grabbed Lian, who struggled against them.  
  
“No!” she yelled. “Daddy, no!”  
  
Roy felt like he’d been stabbed. “It’s okay, _etai yazi_ ,” he said quietly.  
  
“No, how could you?!” she yelled. “You have to save the other kids, you _have_ to!”  
  
“Lian, be quiet,” Dinah said. “It’ll be all right.”  
  
They walked slowly towards the door, Savage and his men leading, the others following. Through the courtyard. To the gates. Savage raised a hand for them to stop when they reached the edge of the grounds, dangerously close to the steep cliff above which the fortress was built. “We’ll do the exchange here.” The armed men set Lian down, stepping back, and for a moment, Roy almost bought it.  
  
Then came the hail of gunfire they’d been waiting for, and he sprung into action.  
  
“Took them long enough!” Jason called, returning fire in the general direction of their attackers.  
  
“They wanted to get us away from cover!” Connor called back. He’d shifted to the front of the group in preparation, shielding the others as best as he could, and indeed, he was bleeding from several bullet wounds, which were knitting over as he watched. Roy had almost forgotten about his healing factor; it was still strange to see. But he didn’t watch long, attention drawn to much more important things.  
  
“Lian!” Roy he yelled, running for the armed gunmen. “Lian!”  
  
“Daddy!” she cried back, struggling against her bonds. Roy moved for her, but was driven back by another hail of gunfire.   
  
Savage, meanwhile, grabbed Lian with one arm and stepped back from the chaos, watching the battle impassively.  
  
“Bastard!” Roy called out, then reluctantly stepped back. He tapped the communicator in his ear. “This is Arsenal. We’ve found Savage. Over by the east entrance, with gunmen. Get the hell over here if you want a piece of him before we’re through.”  
  
“He’s getting away!” Ollie called out. Roy glanced back at Savage and swore as he saw him retreating, Lian struggling and screaming in his arms. He raised his gun, then hesitated, lowering it again – he wasn’t as good a shot with his left, and pistols weren’t as accurate. He couldn’t risk hitting Lian. Ollie, meanwhile, fired a few arrows Savage’s way, aimed at his legs, which Savage ignored.  
  
“Daddy!” Lian yelled. “DADDY!”  
  
“ _Shit_.” Roy looked up at their attackers, considering another rush after Savage.  
  
Savage cried out in pain, and dropped Lian, who rolled away. The immortal glanced at his hand – now complete with a deep bitemark – and then ran after Lian.   
  
So did Mia. “Cover me!” she yelled. Roy hesitated, remembering the _last_ time he’d left her with Mia... then did so, Connor falling in beside him.   
  
Mia ran, zig-zagging to avoid the bulletfire. Lian, struggling against her bonds, tried to move towards her. With Savage only yards away, Mia dove for Lian, wrapping her protectively in her arms.  
  
“I’ve got her!” she called. Holding Lian tight, she dodged Savage’s grasping hands and lurched to her feet. Savage hot on her heels, she ran back towards them.  
  
“Over here!” Connor yelled. Mia joined them, and the others formed a protective circle around Mia, Roy and Lian. Savage fell back, the gunmen who were still uninjured rushing to join him.  
  
Mia set Lian down, and Roy immediately grabbed for a knife, working to free her from her bonds. The moment her hands were free she clung to him, crying openly. He hugged her back with his good arm, shushing her.   
  
“It’s okay, _etai yazi._ Shh, it’s okay.”  
  
“You have to get everyone else, you have to help them –” she sobbed.  
  
“Shh, it’s okay, shh. We will.” Roy scooped her up into his left arm, letting her burrow her head against his neck, and stood.   
  
“Where the hell is our backup?!” Jason shouted, firing at their attackers.  
  
“Right here!” a by now familiar voice sounded. Roy looked up to see Scandal approaching, the rest of the Six trailing behind her at some distance, including Deadshot and Jeanette – he guessed they’d joined back up at some point.   
  
The others caught up as the group got closer, breaking off to engage the attackers while Scandal advanced on Savage, not even seeming to notice the friends she’d apparently been trying to give the slip – and Cheshire.  
  
The immortal stopped, his expression faltering somewhat as he looked at his daughter. “Scandal...” he began.  
  
“ _Save it_ ,” she snarled, advancing with Lamentation Blades raised. Savage retreated, stepping dangerously close to the drop. Roy wondered if a good shot would push him over, but that would mean letting go of Lian, and besides, he’d promised Scandal a shot at him.   
  
“You,” Scandal began. “ _You_. You sent us off on some wild goose chase in New Zealand... then tried to have one of your lieutenants _kidnap_ me... and as if _that_ isn’t enough, as if trying to breed me like a goddamn _dog_ wasn’t enough... I find out you’ve been kidnapping children?”  
  
“Raising an army, daughter,” Savage said. “Ra’s will succeed eventually; I want you by my side when the day comes...”  
  
“Go to hell,” she spat. “I already told you no. How many more times do I have to say it? No, I will _not_ give you an heir. No, I will _not_ rule with you. No, I don’t want _anything_ to do with you.” She stopped. “I don’t know if I can kill you, but I can sure as hell give you the beating of your life right now. So you want to take a look around and tell me if you think you’ve got a chance in hell of defeating us all?”  
  
Savage looked around slowly, taking in the overwhelming force standing against him, many of his men lying defeated at their feet. “No,” he said simply, and stepped backwards off the cliff.  
  
  



	31. Epilogue

Cass was unconscious when they arrived, with no sign of Ra’s anywhere. Steph was at her side in an instant, checking her vitals.  
  
“She’s breathing!” Dick could see the relief on Steph’s face as she spoke, looking over at him.  
  
Dick knelt down as well, examining her. “I think she’ll be okay. She got hit with something, but it looks like it’s wearing off,” he said. “Guess Ra’s couldn’t beat her in a straight fight.”  
  
“She _did_ beat Shiva,” Steph pointed out. “Twice. Here, help me carry her?” she asked, grabbing Cass under the arms. Dick nodded and took her feet, the two together moving her downstairs, where the others were waiting.  
  
Dick wasn’t really sure how to feel about that last one. Talia had claimed that their more recent encounters had been more or less an attempt on her part to throw her father off of her scent, allowing her time enough to work against his plans, He had to admit, that sounded a lot more like her than the woman he’d fought a few months ago. Not to mention, Talia’s agent – now unconscious and being treated for his injuries – had more or less saved the day, not only informing them of the true location of the virus after Ra’s had given Talia false information but allowing Red Robin access to the engine room. Still, playing nice with her, in the very middle of what had been just an hour ago hostile territory... it was pretty surreal.  
  
Damian, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have left Talia’s side since the woman had joined the others with him in her arms, the child unable to walk after breaking his ankle in a nasty fall from a ceiling vent. Dick was sure he had more injuries than that, but the ten-year-old had insisted that he was _fine_ , Grayson, and he should be focusing on finding Black Bat instead.  
  
It looked like he’d really been worried about her, too, because his eyes widened as they approached. He started to leap up, then stumbled as he put weight on his injured leg. “Cain!”  
  
“She’s okay,” Dick said. “Just unconscious.” He set a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “Sit down, you’re going to mess your ankle up worse.”  
  
Damian did, tutting slightly as he did so. “I’m fine. It’s just a sprain.”  
  
“Of course,” Dick said, and somehow, he had to smile. He looked around at the others. Bruce and Talia had broken off from the group slightly, talking in hushed undertones.  
  
“ – hardly need your protection, Beloved,” she said. “Take care of Damian, not me. Father and I have been at odds before.”  
  
“He won’t just let this go, Talia.”  
  
“Hardly,” she said. “But _I_ am not at risk.” Her gaze flickered to Damian, who, assured of Cass’s safety, was now watching them intently, expression carefully stoic.  
  
“I’m offering you refuge,” Bruce said.  
  
“And I’m declining it,” she replied.  
  
“Mother,” Damian said suddenly. “Can’t you... stay?” Something in Dick’s heart broke at the hope in his voice.  
  
“Damian...” Talia’s face softened briefly. “I’ve put you in enough danger.”  
  
The kid’s expression fell. Dick put a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking up at Talia.  
  
“Where will you go now?” he asked.  
  
“I think it’s better not to say,” she said. She glanced at Damian again, briefly. “Take care of my son.”  
  
“Of course,” Dick said, then hesitated. “Take care of yourself, too,” he added.  
  
“Of course.” She knelt down in front of Damian, eyes soft. “Goodbye, Damian,” she said.  
  
“Goodbye, Mother,” he replied. He was obviously trying not to cry. Talia hesitated, then hugged him briefly, before standing and pulling away.  
  
“It won’t be safe here much longer,” she said. “You should leave.”  
  
Bruce nodded, walking to stand next to Damian. “We’ll teleport out immediately.” He was silent for a moment. “... goodbye... Talia.”  
  
“Farewell, Beloved.” She kissed his cheek, and then she was leaving. Dick squeezed Damian’s shoulder briefly as they watched her walk away.  
  
“Watchtower,” Dick said. “Six to teleport to Gotham. Code Eight Xavier West Xavier Jack Eagle Four Eagle.”  
  
And then they were gone.

*******

  
They were silent for a few moments, just staring over the edge of the cliff, where Vandal Savage had jumped off moments before.  
  
“He can survive that, right?” Jason asked.  
  
“Yes,” Scandal and Dinah responded in unison.  
  
“Though it’ll probably take him a while to heal,” Dinah added. “Do you think we can find him?”  
  
Scandal shook her head. “No. He’ll have planned for this.” She paused, blades still raised, as she peered into the chasm below. “But I’m still going to look.”  
  
“ _We_ will,” Knockout said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Don’t try to run off without us again, lover.”  
  
“I don’t want to put any of you in danger,” Scandal replied, leaning into her.  
  
“It’s seven against one,” Catman said. “I think we’ll be fine.”  
  
“Eight,” Cheshire said. “Haven’t you learned to count yet?”  
  
“You’re not invited,” Deadshot said.  
  
“Wait, seven?” Mia asked. “Aren’t you the Secret Six?” They ignored her.  
  
“I think you’ll find I’m less dangerous with you than against you,” Cheshire said menacingly.  
  
“By all means,” Jeannette said with a grin. “Feel free to join us. I’m sure it’ll be... interesting.”  
  
“Mom?” Lian asked suddenly, wiping at an eye as she looked up from Roy’s embrace. “Are you leaving?”  
  
Cheshire faltered suddenly, walking over to her child and kneeling down. “I think your father... can take care of you better.” She looked up at Roy, expression darkening. “ _Right_?”  
  
“Of course I can,” he said. He looked back down at Lian. “I promised myself that if I ever got her back... I’d retire.” He hugged her closer. “So that’s what I’m doing. I came here for her, I got –” he hesitated – “ _better_ for her, and now I’m getting out of all this while I still can.”  
  
“Perhaps I’ll visit, then,” Cheshire said, running a hand through Lian’s hair. “After I find Savage.”  
  
Roy looked like he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that, clutching Lian a bit closer. “Yeah. Maybe.” His expression softened slightly. “See you around, Jade.”  
  
“Bye, Mommy,” Lian murmured quietly.  
  
“Goodbye, darling.” She kissed Lian’s hair, and went to follow the Six.  
  
“Should we... try to arrest them or something?” Mia asked in an undertone.  
  
“I don’t think that’d go very well,” Connor said. “We should just get the other kids and leave.”  
  
“Going to have to agree there,” Jason said.  
  
“Speaking of people who could be arrested...” Ollie said derisively.  
  
“Most of us?” Jason responded.  
  
“Please don’t start,” Connor added, and  the two relented.  
  
“I just want to go home,” Lian said. She looked up at them with wide eyes. “Please?”  
  
Roy smiled down at her, looking like he was holding back tears. “Sure, _etai yazi_ ,” he said gently. He stood, picking her up. “Let’s go home.”  
  
  



End file.
